J07 
/ 1 





THEIR CARE 
-^MANAGEMENT 

foR EXHIBITION 
OR M MARKET 



RELIABLE PoULTRY JoURNAL 

PUBLISHING Co. 

QUINCY'lLLU-SA 










ALL VARIETIES 



Their Care and Mana^einent 

Mating, Rearing, Exhibiting and Judging 
Turkeys ^ Explanation of Score -Card 
Judging, M'ith Complete Instructions 



A Collection of the Experiences of Best Known Successful 

Turkey Breeders, Exhibitors and 

Judges 



FULLY ILLUSTRATED 



published jointly by 
Reliable Poultry Journal Publishing Company, Quixcy, Illinois 

' AND 

American Poultry Publishing Company, Buffalo, New York 
1909 



^A turkey boiled 
Is a turkey spoiled, 
A turkey roast 
Is a nation' s boast, 
But for turkey braized 
The Lord be praised. ' ' 



>CU251343 



D^ 



c^V 



Copyright by Reliable Poultry Journal Pub. Co., 1909 






INTRODUCTORY 



F THE American people have one fowl of which 
they are especially proud, it is the turkey. 

One of our correspondents writes: "A 
Christmas without a Christmas tree, a Fourth 
of July without firecrackers, would be on a par 
with a Thanksgiving without a turkey. ' 

On November 21, 1620, the Mayflower with 
one hundred and two Pilgrims cast anchor ofE 
Cape Cod. The first six months of their first year which 
was spent on the ocean edge of the wilderness, were full 
of hardships and dangers, many deaths occurred and the 
small company was greatly reduced. Luckily the Indians 
proved to be friendly and taught them how to plant 
maize, which they planted well, and in spite of the hard- 
ships of the first six months thej' considered the year 
comparatively successful. William Bradford, their second 
Governor, on account of this success proclaimed a season 
of Thanksgiving. It is supposed that this idea was taken 
from the old English custom of observing the harvest 
festival. The records show that the Governor sent four 
men out fowling and they brought in wild turkeys and 
partridges in abundance. From that day to the present 
time this holiday has been observed each autumn and the 
turkey has been tiie bird that graced the feast. 

Although the turkey is classed with the domesticated 
fowls, it' retains to a certain extent, the instincts of its 
wild ancestors and persons who are going to raise tur- 
keys should bear this in mind. 

Ever since their discovery in this country they seem 
to have been kept in a sort of a domesticated state. The 
Cortez expedition into Mexico in 1518 or 1519, found them 
in a state of domestication. The Pilgrims reported that 
some of the Indians had them partly domesticated, yet 
after all these years the bronze variety especially, retains 
to a certain extent i.ts wild Instincts and will do much 
better if allowed to roam. They may be kept enclosed 
during a certain period, say during- the breeding season, 
but they will not do as well if kept continually confined. 
The farm is the natural home for the turkey, and 
one that has a woodland on it is all the better, as it gives 
the turkeys a chance to indulge in some of their wild 
traits; it forms a natural breeding spot and furnishes 
food that is particularly palatable to their taste. 

BREEDING TURKEYS 

Turkey breeders, as a class, have not given the study 
to turkey culture that breeders have to other branches 
of poultry culture, but they will almost without excep- 
tion, tell you, "Do not in-breed." In-breeding or line- 
breeding should not be undertaken except by the 
breeders who have the time and inclination to do a lot of 
hard work, for the love of it. 

Turkeys in their wild state generally mated in pairs 
and during the breeding season it was a case of the "sur- 
vival of the fittest." The survivor had his choice of the 
flock and proudly walked away wth his mate. Cases 
have been recorded where a large, wild tom would fight 
and kill another tom and take unto him the new mate, 
while his first mate was sitting. It is owing to this rule 
that we have such a fine bird today. When man tries to 
confine and in-breed this great bird of the forest, nature 
steps in and says, "no." 

Breeders have had this pretty well drilled into their 
minds, many of them to their sorrow, consequently it is 
by continual outcrossing or the adding of new blood, that 



the vigor, health and size of the flock are preserved. 
Many prominent breeders line-breed to a certain extent; 
that is, they keep within one jjarticular strain as much 
as possible, but they have to introduce outside blood 
every few years. 

In mating domestic flocks one male can be given as 
many as eighteen or twenty females, but generally eight 
to twelve is the limit. Many breeders are glad to introduce 
wild blood into their flock in order to get increased size 
and vigor. The bronze turkeys especially, have been bred 
so long and are so similar to the \vild, that they breed 
very true to type and color, consequently do not need to 
be in-bred or line-bred as do some of our manufactured or 
artificial breeds of poultry. They were already made 
when we first got them and man has been unable to im- 
prove upon nature; they are in fact the real descendants 
of the wild turkey. 

Wild turkeys are becoming very scarce and domestic 
turkeys are becoming tamer and less inclined to roam, 
because of the fact that wild turkey blood is harder to 
get and is not so generally introduced as it was a few 
years ago. The wild spots in our country are becoming 
smaller every year; even the cattle of the western ranges 
have been deprived of their unlimited range which has 
been cut up into farms. 

"Necessity is the mother of invention," still as the 
wild turkey blood becomes extinct, the domesticated ones 
will become more and more contented to stay within the 
boundaries of the home farm, and with the progress that 
is being made at the Agricultural Colleges in studying 
turkey diseases, we shall no doubt in a few years be able 
to raise turkeys in the little orchard back of the farm 
house. The old tom whose ancestors used to roam for 
miles and miles in search of conquest, will be content to 
settle down with his flock and the old hen will be induced 
to sit in the hen house or box as contented as any old 
biddy. 

THE CARE OF TURKEYS 

As long as there is any wild instinct left in them we 
believe that the turkey industry will be benefltted by 
cultivating that trait as long as possible. It is natural 
for turkeys to roost outside. Let them do it. At one 
time we built a large turkey shed with good high roosts, 
etc. We fed them inside at night and shut them in, but 
the first time the door was open, up in the big oak tree 
they would fly, face the storm, draw their heads in like 
turtles and sleep all night, happy and contented no 
matter how cold and stormy it was. 

They iell us that j'oung poults should be kept con- 
fined until the dew is ofE the grass, and it is good advice. 
They will not stand dampness and no doubt many young 
poults were lost from this cause when in their wild state. 
Timbered lands where there is not much underbrush, 
make an ideal place for raising young poults. The turkey 
hen has a good chance to keep them dry and there is no 
wet grass to wet and chill them. Then, too, there is 
plenty and a variety of nature's food for them and they 
are not as subject to bowel trouble as where they are 
kept confined and liable to be over-fed. Lice will not 
bother them as much, for they have plenty of chance to 
dust themselves in the cool earth of the woodlands, neither 
will lice multiply as fast in the open as where the birds 
are kept confined. 

It seems to be the general opinion that turkeys are 
hard to raise and perhaps they are, but if we will study 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



nature and be benefitted by the lessons she teaches and 
accept the advice of others who have learned their lesson 
well, we ought to succeed. We used to think that arti- 
ficial incubation was a failure and it was, to a certain 
extent, until we studied the old hen and her methods and 
profited by what we observed, so today we can hatch 
and raise chickens just as well, if not better, by artificial 
means as by nature's methods. 

Keep a hen and her brood in a coop for a week or 
two and when released she seems to have accepted that 
as her permanent abode and will not go far away. Not 
so with the turkey. Confine her and then let her out 
with her brood and she will try to see how far away she 
can get. 

Young poults seem very weak and it is well to keep 
them confined at night and until the grass is dry in the 
morning, as is advised in several of the following articles. 
The place to raise them in preference to all others is a 
woodland or some pasture where the grass is short and 
insects are plenty. 

The breeding turkeys should not be too fat but 
should be put in good condition by being given free 
range all day and being fed their evening meal at home, 
which will induce them to come in at night. Some 
breeders at this time confine them in a large enclosure 
and keep them there until the hens have laid the next 
morning. These matters are all covered in the many 
articles throughout this book so we need not go into 
details. Turkey meat is the cheapest that can be raised 
on the farm and every farm should have its flock of 
turkeys. 

In addition to being a cheap thing to raise, think of 
the many insects they destroy and turn into cash. Many 
a farmer's wife buys her fall and winter outfits, from 
bonnet to boots, with the mone3' she gets for the small 
flock of turkeys she gave a start and then let raise them- 
selves. 

THE HKONZE TURKEY 

The bronze variety is without doubt the most popu- 
lar variety we have. They were recognized in our first 
Standard, known as the "Lockwood" Standard, which 
was published in 1871. The wording of the different 
Standards as they were revised from time to time, has 
been changed to keep the requirements abreast of the 
improvements made in breeding them. As has been said 
before, they are direct descendants from the wild birds 
and are frequently crossed with the wild in order to get 
more size and vigor. They are also the largest variety 
we have. We have handled or rather tried to handle one 
that weighed 62 pounds. He was the largest one we ever 
saw, but it is no uncommon thing to see specimens in our 
winter shows weighing 40 to 50 pounds. 

In spite of the fact that exhibition specimens are 
verj' large and fine to look at, they sometimes get so 
large that they are useless as breeders and markets do 
not want such a large bird. The weights prescribed by 
the American Poultrj' Association in their Standard of 
Perfection, are believed to be the best for all-round pur- 
poses and it is well to stay pretty close to these weights 
for best results. 

STANDARD VARIETIES 

There are seven varieties of turkeys, that is seven 
varieties that are recognized by the American Poultry 
Association, as follows: — The Bronze, Narragansett, BufE, 
White Holland, Black, Slate and Bourbon Red. 

The Bronze variety is described at length in the 
article on "Judging and Mating." Their principal defects 



are explained, also how much they should be cut in 
scoring. 

The Blacks, Buifs, Slates and Narragansetts were 
admitted to the Standard in ISTi and are described in 
Mr. McClave's article, "Turkeys and Their Management." 
The White Holland variety was admitted to the Standard 
in 1878 and is also described in Mr. McClave's article. 

The Bourbon Reds, the new Standard variety just 
admitted to the Standard, originated, according to the 
most reliable authority, in Bourbon County, Kentucky, 
and are brought up from what in the early days was 
called the wild Yellow Turkey. We have heard tourists 
of today, tell of seeing a yellow turkey in a wild state in 
Y^ellowstone Park. Standard weights for the Bourbons 
are as follows: — 

Cock 30 lbs. Hen 18 lbs. 

Cockerel 22 lbs. Pullet 14 lbs. 

The neck and back color should be brownish red; the 
tail, white; the wingbows, deep, brownish red and the 
primaries and secondaries should be white. The breast 
and body should be deep, brownish red and the fluff, 
brownish red. The thighs are the same as the fluff, and 
the shanks and toes should be reddish pink. 

THE WHITE HOLLANDS 

Next to the Bronze, in popularity, come the White 
Holland. For many j'Cars it was difficult to get the 
Whites up to Standard weight, but of late years breeders 
have been making some great improvements, and today 
we see specimens in our show-rooms that will weigh 40 
pounds. There is some complaint heard these days about 
getting the weight of this variety too high and it seems 
to be well founded. The Whites have won public favor 
by being a medium weight fowl and that is what the 
marketmen demand. We should dislike very much to 
see the Whites get too large and lose the prestige they 
have been gaining. 

THE NARRAGANSETTS 

Probably the Narragansett closely follows the 
White, as far as public favor is concerned. They have 
made some rapid strides toward the front, during the 
past few years, especially in parts of the New England 
States. 

CONCLUSION 

Our export trade has grown to such proportions that 
the home markets have felt it and the past two or three 
years have caused breeders to notice that the turkey 
crop was getting shorter each year. 

Missouri, Kentucky and Texas are probably the 
greatest turkey producing states. Eastern Canada also 
raises many turkeys, but we need more of them. 

Rhode Island and the adjacent territory used to be 
one of the greatest turkey raising sections of this coun- 
try. The dread disease known as blackhead, has practi- 
cally wiped out the industry in that section, in spite of 
the great efforts that have been made to stop the disease. 
The State Agricultural College at Kingston, R. I., has 
been making exhaustive experiments in combating black- 
lieari and other turkey diseases and their bulletins can 
be had upon application. 

We trust as yoii read the following pages written by 
■\veH-known and successful breeders and study the charts 
drawn by Mi\ Frauklane L. Sewell (the best thing of 
their kind ever drawn) that you will gain confidence and 
feel capable of making a success of raising the king of 
fowls, the bird that is so near to nature, that is liked by 
e\eiybody and whose destiny is a Thanksgiving feast. 



HOW THE TURKEY GOT ITS NAME 

Oor Domestic Varieties of Turkeys are Descended from the Wild Turkey of Nortfi America — Three Varieties of Wild Turkeys- 
Growth of the Word Turkey — The Introduction of Turkey into Europe — First Sent to the Old World by Corlez 



D. E. HALE 




IIMEKOUS writers in the past have endeav- 
ored to trace the origin of our national 
bird aud to learn the derivation of its 
name. They have agreed on many points 
and differed on many. 

For the historic information con- 
tained in the following article, we are 
pleased to give credit to the gentlemen 
who have charge of the Reference Department in the 
Buffalo, N. Y., Public Library, who very courteously 
as.sisted the writer in his search for authentic informa- 
tion in regard to turkeys. 

There is little doubt that our domestic varieties of 
t'.irkeys are all descended from the wild turkey of North 
America. How and when they were developed forms an 
ii.'teresting stiidj-. 

Lewis Wright, the great English writer and authority, 
in his book "The New Book of Poultry," says in speaking 
of their originating in America: "This is no question 
now; aud the obstinate incredulity of some naturalists 
respecting the fact is one of the most curious phenomena 
in the history of Science." 

Americans generallj' believe our grand bronze turkey 
is the lineal descendant of the northern wild turkej'. Why 








A reproduction of the male wild turkev as shown in "Burnham's 
New Foultry I5ooU." published in 1S77. This picture certainly re- 
sembles the peaccck to a great extent, and it is not surprising that 
the Spaniards of the Cortez expedition called them peacocks. 



northern? In order to make it clear let us explain that 
there are, or were, three varieties of wild turkeys. Those 
found in Honduras and Central America were known as 
"M. Ocellata," and were distinguished by the absence of 
the breast-tuft. They also had a different carunculatiou 
and a much brighter plumage. Those found in the south- 
ern states and Mexico were known to the naturalists as 
"M. Mexicana," wliile those of the northern states and 



Canada were known as "Meleagris Americana." These 
latter were darker and more bronze in color. 

Some naturalists think that the brighter plumage of 
the southern birds was caused by the warmer climate 
where a larger assortment of food was to be had, owing 
to climatic conditions. 

The northern wild turkey being more bronze in color 
and also more robust, owing to climatic and food condi- 




A reproduction of the female wild turkey as showu in 
■■Burnham's New Poultry Book," published in 1877 



tions, it is quite reasonable to presume that it is from 
this variety that we have our elegant bronze turkey of 
today. 

It is hard to say when turkej'S were first domesti- 
cated. The first settlers who landed on our shores found 
that some of the Indians had them in a sort of domesti- 
cated condition. We will go back farther than that, al- 
though these same domesticated turkeys may have been 
the progenitors of our bronze turkey. 

THEIK INTRODUCTION INTO EUROPE 

Let us see whence tne name came and in doing so 
we will be able to tell of their introduction into Europe. 

.Mr. W'right in his book mentioned above, says: "As 
no one ever supposed that these birds came from Turke3% 
or anywhere except North America, not one single old 
writer can be quoted for anj- such mistake. The origin 
of the name is a vei\v curious question. Some have sug- 
gested that it came from a supposed resemblance of the 
red carunculations to the old Turkish costume of a red 
fez coming down to the ears, with a dark flowing robe 
beneath. Another guess is that the word is corrupted 
from turquoise, suj)posed to be applied to that bluish 
carunculation about the head. Others point out that 
the name of 'A Turk' is often applied in popular language 
to any one remarkable for domineering and pompous 
disposition or appearance and thus it became attached to 
the turkey cock, and gradually modified." 



6 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



We personally are incliuecl to agree with Mr. E. 
Kichardson who in the book entitled, '-Turkey's and How 
to Grow Them" says that the name was derived from 
the Hebrew word ''Tukki," meaning peacock. 

Prescott in his "Conquest of Mexico," explains how 
Cortez was sent ou his voyage of discovery and conquest, 
and that he was to send to his emperor one-fifth of all 
the spoils taken, etc. We quote Mr. Richardson as fol- 
lows: 

"The introduction of the bird into Europe naturally 
followed, and not long after, for in July, 1519, Cortez dis- 




Mammoth Bronze Turkev. reproduced from "Biirnham's New Poultry 
Book," published in 1877 This shows the type of turkey that has been 
crossed with the wild turkey, which cross has been very instrumental in 
producing the splendid Bronze Turkey o( today. 

patched 'his first letter' to his emperor, Charles the 
Fifth, with a collection of fabrics, minerals and other 
products of the new world, and it is not to be supposed 
that the turkey was omitted, especially as it was so 
easily obtained. History tells us that the turkey was 
first brought to England in 1524, five years after Cortez 
sent specimens to Spain. 

(Note: — This introduction into England is 17 years 
eai'lier than is claimed by Mr. McGrew in "Bailey's Cyclo- 
pedia of Agriculture," which gives 1541 as the date. — D. 
E. H.) 

"At first it was only in the hands of the rich, as nat- 
urally would be the case, but in course of time became 
accessible to the poor as well. So much then as to the 
origin of the bird itself, in which is shown how it is a 
native of Mexico, and was introduced into Europe by the 
expedition of Cortez to the new world, and called by his 
followers the 'American' or 'Mexican' peacock from Its 
habit of strutting. 

"Strange, then, how the bird came to be called tur- 
key, a word in no way similar to the Anglo-Saxon pawa. 



the German pfau, the Erench paon or the Latin pavo, all 
names similar to one another and derived from the 
Latin, the bird (peacock) having been brought from the 
east by the liomans. The mystery then is how, in view 
of all these facts, the name 'turkey' came to be applied 
to this bird. It is obvious that we must look to some 
other language for a solution to the ijroblem. Going to 
the far oil home of the peacock, we find in the Tamil lan- 
guage of India, a word 'toka' — peacock, the primitive 
meaning of which refers to a train or trailing skirt. This 
woi'd adojjted into the Hebrew language becomes 'tukki' 
and by a slight change of the genius of the English lan- 
guage becomes what we are looldng for, 'turkey.' 

"But it is asked, 'How came it through the Hebrew?' 
Let it be said, then, that at the time of the expedition of 
Cortez to Mexico the despised and persecuted Jews were 
very numerous in Spain and engaged, as they usually are, 
by their natural adaptability for gain, in merchandising. 
Their acuteness led them to deal in foreign birds, curiosi- 
ties and rarities, by which they reaped large profits, as 
these things were only purchased by the rich. Naturally, 
then, they saw in this new importation an opportunity 
for g.ain, which they seized, and as they used their own 
Language as much as possible, it was not long before the 
Hebrew name for peacock became well known. Doubtless 
they designated it as tlie 'American' peacock, for it was 
well known whence it came. 

"Thus it would be constantly heard in the market 
places, while the more scientific name of 'pavo' would 
only be heard among the educated few, and so by force 
of numbers the name was used and anglicized into 
turkey. 

"Furthermore, the name was formerly spelled 
'turky,' as when Corbet, Bishop of Oxford, w^rites to 
Buckingham: 

" 'Like very poore or counterfeit poore man, who, to 
preserve their turky or their hen, do offer \ip them- 
selves.' 

In tracing the ^vord to the Hebrew, the rules goveim- 
ing etymologies have been complied with, since here we 
have preserved the radicals T and K, which fact only 
tends to prove the origin of the word, according to the 
views herein set forth." 

After investigating the authorities available, we are 
inclined to believe that Mr. Richardson is right in regard 
to the origin of the word and also about the introduction 
of the turkey into Europe. 

It is quite reasonable to presume that the Mexican or 
southern turkey was the first introduced throughout Eu- 
rope. Later, when the pilgrims settled here and found 
^ that the Indians were domesticating them and that they 
^ were numerous in the woods, they were no doubt used as 
a bird of feast, owing to their size and numbers. 

"Holy Days and Holidays" by Deems, says in regard 
to Thanksgiving: 

"When after the ingathering of the first harvest in a 
new world. Gov. Bradford sent four men out to shoot 
wild fowl that the infant colony 'might after a more- 
special manner rejoice together,' he little dreamed to 
what that pious act would grow." 

It was not until the Revolutionary War that the feast 
became national and after 1784 it was only occasionally 
observed, except in New England. 

Henry Axistin in "Holy. Days and Holidays" writes, in 
speaking of the four hunters mentioned: "They killed 
many wild turkeys which the women in dressing probably 
stuffed with beechnuts, and they brought home wood- 
pigeons and partridges in abundance." 

As the climatic conditions of the north gave the wild 
turkeys of that section their bronzy color and hardy con- 
stitution and as it is a fact that the Indians were do- 
mesticating these turkeys when the country was discov- 
ered and that our ancestors were progressive, we believe 
it is safe to conclude that our bronze turkey of today is 
descended from the "Meleagris Americana." 



TURKEYS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT 



Origin — Description of All Standard Varieties — Breeding — Feeding— When to Market — Turkeys Pay the Greatest Profit 
CHAS. MoCLAVE, 1909, AMERICA'S PREMIER TURKEY JUDGE 



|H^H|^^ HE origin of the domestic turkey is in a 
H^J sense almost unknown. Turkeys have 

J^^ been bred as a domestic fowl for hun- 

dreds of years in the United States and 
Europe. Turkeys as a fowl or bird may 
be divided into four classes, as follows: 
The Wild American turkey of the United 
States and Canada; the Mexican turkey of Mexico, Cen- 
tral America, and the northern portion of South Amer- 
ica; the Ocellata variety of Honduras, and the last 
but not least, our Standard varieties of domestic tur- 
keys. 

STANDARD VARIETIES 
The American Standard of Perfection recognizes seven 
pure or Standard varieties as follows: — The Bronze, Black, 
White Holland, Nari-agansett, Buff, Bourbon Red and Slate. 
Bronze are the largest and most numerous of all our do- 
mestic varieties and are purely American, having been 
a cross of the American Wild and the common domestic 
turkey brought from Europe. 

THE BRONZE TURKKY 

The cross has produced the largest and hardiest tur- 
key known. The well bred Bronze of today rivals the 
famous American Wild Turkey in brilliant color of 
plumage and beauty. The Standard weights of Bronze 
are as follow.s: — adult gobblers 36 pounds, adult hens 20 
pounds, young- gobblers 25 pounds, pullets 16 pounds; 
however, these weights are far exceeded by some speci- 
mens found in our large poultry shows. 

At the last New York show held in Madison Square 
Garden last December the writer found several adult 
males w^eighing over 40 pounds each, and hens as high as 
30 pounds, making a single pair, weighing above 70 



pounds. These are extra weights and are valuable for 
show purposes, but as a rule do not make the best 
breeders. For general purposes and in the breeding 
flock I prefer a medium sized Bronze. A young gobbler 
weighing in breeding condition 25 pounds and pullets 15 
to 17 pounds, or hens 17 to 20 pounds, make the best 
breeders. 

It is desirable always to m'ate not akin if possible, 
which insures a much stronger chick or potilt. The gob- 
bler whether old or young should be large in bone and 
frame, deep in body, with deep, round, full breast, head 
of good size, and eye alert, with bold expression. 

The leg and shanK should be large and straight, with 
outlines of all sections in perfect harmony. The hen 
should in every way conform in outlines to that of the 
male, except in size. 

In color the entire plumage of the male should be 
a rich, brilliant, golden bronze, for neck, back, breast 
and surface of wings. Wing flights when spread are 
black with white barring across each feather, the more 
regular the better. 

The tail is black, evenly marked, transversely, with 
parallel lines of brown, and each feather ending with 
wide edging of white. Red or rusty tips are very ob- 
jectionable. 

The color of the hen is similar to the male, except 
an edging of white or gray on each feather of the 
breast, body, wings and back. 

As layers the Bronze surpasses all other varieties, and 
if not allowed to sit, will lay from three to four clutches 
of eggs of from 13 to 18 in a clutch. 

THE BLACK TURKEY 
One of the most promising varieties, the Blacks, are 
being bred in large numbers in some sections at the 




Bronze Turkeys on ihe Farm of Mr. Chas. McClave. 



8 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



present time. The modern Black turkey is nearly equal 
to the Bronze in size. The old stj'le Blacks were not 
only inferior in size, but poor in quality; however, by 
careful breeding: and handling and with an infusion of 
new blood, they have been greatly improved in size and 




A Fine Specimen of (he Mammoth Bronz.e Tnrkey 

general make up. To attain their present weights and 
general characteristics there is no question whatever 
but more or less Bronze blood has been judiciously used. 

From a market standpoint there is no question but 
the Blacks will dress yellower and even plumper than 
any other Standard variety. The Standard weights of 
Black turkeys are: Cocks, twenty-seven pounds; hens, 
eighteen pounds; cockerels, eighteen pounds and pul- 
lets, twelve pounds. At the present time these weights 
are entirely too low except on hens. We have no trouble 
at Christmas time in having pullets from fourteen to 
fifteen pounds, cockerels twenty to twenty-four pouuds 
and cock birds thirty or over. The Standard requires 
males and females to be lustrous black throug-hout, but 
it is a difficult matter to secure young birds with solid 
colored plumage, as more or less feathers in wings will 
invariably be tipped with white. This will usually dis- 



appear at maturity. Good strains of Blacks are strictly 
hardy, their eggs hatch well, and they are fully as good 
layers as the Bronze or White. They are very docile in 
their habits and are not inclined to ramble as much as 
other varieties. The young grow rapidly from the start, 

and at selling time alway.s command the top 

of the market. 

The head and beak sho^ild be long and 
broad and of good shape; eyes bright hazel; 
neck of medium length and well curved; back 
broad, of good length and highest in the 
center and curved the shajye of an egg. The 
breast should be broad, deep and full; body of 
good length and round in outline; wings of 
good length and snugly folded against the 
sides; tail of medium length and when folded 
comparatively small. Thighs, shanks and toes 
should be of good length with strong bone 
and perfectly straight. 

The Black Turkeys are also an American 
production; however, the Norfolk or Black 
Turkey has been bred in England for more 
than two centuries. Thirty years ago the 
Blacks were, as a class, small in size but by 
1lie judicious infusion of Bronze blood they 
liave greatly improved in size and nearly rival 
tlie Bronze in this respect. 

When the good qualities of the Black Tur- 
key- become better known we predict that they 
will rival their Bronze and White cousins in 
popularity. 

WHITE HOLLAND TURKEYS 

The White Holland is also a native 
of America. They are a sport of the 
Bronze or dark varieties. and were also 
rated as a small turkey until within the 
past twenty years. 

By careful breeding and the intro- 
duction of new blood from larger varie- 
ties, they have been greatly improved in 
size. They are the most domestic in 
their habits of any variety and not in- 
clined to roam; are the best of layers; 
a fine table fowl, and in the past few years a 
great demand has developed for their feath- 
ers. Market turkey buyers and dressers all 
over the country are urging farmers and 
growers to breed White Holland turkeys on 
this account. 

THE NARRAGANSETT TURKEY 

The Narragansett turkeys are a large variety 
nearly rivaling the Bronze in size, and are a native of 
New England, having- derived their name from the In- 
dian tribe, also Narragansett Bay on the east coast of 
Rhode Island. 

They are bred largely throughout New England and 
the Atlantic coast and are becoming more popular in the 
west. As a market variety they rank well with the 
other large kinds. 

In color they are different than any other kind, the 
g-round color being black, each feather ending with steel 
gray, edged with black, giving the entire plumage a 
p'rayish effect. See illustration page 9. The male and 
female are the same in color except the female is a 
shade the lighter. 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



9 



THE BUFKS 
Buff turkeys are one of the older varieties; how- 
ever, they have never been popular and in some localities 
are practically unknown; are of medium size and rarely 
ever attain Standard weights. Very few specimens have 
ever been produced that are really buff in color, as they 
usually are of a chestnut or reddish shade of color with 
white flights. They are fairly good layers 
and good specimens mature eai-ly. 

THE SLATE VARIETY 
Slate turkeys are a medium size turkey 
and sports from other Standard varieties, 
are slate or blue in color and many times will 
produce black and white specimens from the 
same flock. They are only bred in small num- 
bers, therefore have never been popular. Some 
very good ones were shown at the New York 
show last December, especially the first old 
«ock bird. They are fairly good layers, and 
should receive more attention from turkey 
growers. 

THE BREEDINti STOCK 

In selecting the breeding stock, no matter 
•what variety, they should be well matured, 
strong, vigorous, and healthy. Yearling and 
two year old hens will lay larger eggs and pro- 
duce stronger poults than eggs laid by pullets. 

Always use a gobbler not akin to the hens, 
which ' insures strong poults. Avoid large or 
overgrown specimens as breeders. Tt is not 
necessary to have more than one male 
to six to ten hens under ordinary condi- 
tions. If more than one male is used 
with the flock, keep one yarded, changing • V 

them from two to five times a week. 

During the laying season if two or 
more males run with the flock they are 
eonstantly fighting and destroying each 
other's work. Past experience has taught 
that the bree'ding stock thrive better with 
free range of the farm; however, if pro- 
vided with a large yard or orchard, they 
•can be kept confined during laying time. 

In most localities this is almost a necessity 
on account of crows robbing the turkey nest. 

WHAT TO FEED 

To insure good health, the breeding stock must be 
provided with a variety of grain, grit and charcoal. As 
a conditioner and health i^reserver, charcoal has no equal 
for the turkey family. When turkeys have free access 
to charcoal very few will become sick or ailing. 

The writer has found oats to be the best all around 
grain for tui-keys, especially during breeding time. A 
small amount of corn and wheat can also be fed to good 
advantage. Over-fat specimens are as a rule very poor 
breeders. Turkeys require a considerable amount of 
water and should always have a liberal supply. 

AVhere the breeders have the range of the farm they 
require very little grain food after they commence to 
lay. Many farmers hatch the first laying of turkey eggs 
under chicken hens and the turkeys sit and hatch the 
second clutch. 

While some make a success by this method, many 
more make a failure, as young poults do not thrive with 
chicken liens, for two princiiJal reasons, namely, proper 
food, and lice. In their natural state the young- poults 



live almost entirely on insect food, which is not and 
cannot be jirovided where brooded vrith the chicken hen, 
therefore we are feebly trying to make them thrive on 
food entirely foreign to natare. 







One of Chas. McChivc- NarvHgan.selt Turkeys, whmcv of first prize at 
the St. l,ouis Worlu's Flir. 

Every chicken hen will transmit enough lice to the 
young poults to injure them to a greater or less extent. 
The writer strongly recpmmends the hatching of all 
turkey eggs by the turkey hen, which is the only nat- 
ural mother. If yoti must hatch with chicken hens, use 
plenty of insect powder before the eggs hatch. 

After the poults hatch, isolate -them from the flock 
of chickens to a dry sunny place and after thirty hours 
old give a ration of hard boiled eggs and bread crumbs. 
When a few days old add cracked corn and wheat, cot- 
tage cheese, and in fact a little of everything they will 

eat. 

Animal matter should be supplied for young poults, 
which can be provided in the form of ground meat 
scraps, beef liver cooked and chopped fine. This must 
be fed at least every other day and in a small quantity 
at a time. Keep a liberal supply of fresh water and 
granulated charcoal before them at all times. Never 
allow their coops or nans to become wet or filthy. If 
possible move the run every two days to a fresh ground. 



10 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



as in a natural state they rarely ever remain in the 
same place more than one night. 

After they are four weeks old, turn them loose to 
rang-e over the farm, and still siipply them with wheat 
and corn until grasshoppers become plentiful. I believe 
a flock of 25 to 50 tixrkeys ranging over a farm are a 
benefit to any farmer because of the thousands of in- 
sects and woi-ms which they devour daily. All these in- 
sects and worms destroy a large amount of grain and 
grass every year, on every farm. On our own farm tur- 
keys have been kept for near 30 years and in numbers 
from seven to four hundred and fifty head, and during- 




Buff Tarkey Cock 

A specimen of this rare variety of the turkey family which won first pri: 
many State Fairs in the hands of its owner, Mr. A. J. Ziemer. 



that time they have rarely ever destroyed wheat, oats 
or corn when in the shock. This cannot be said of other 
poultry, as chickens, geese and ducks will destroy grow- 
ing and shocked grain should they have access to the 

*'^'"''- WHEN TO marki<:t 

Past experience has taught that to keep your tur- 
keys healthy, keep them busy and on the move. The 
busy turkey is the healthy turkey. Always encourage 
them to come near the buildings to roost, by a liberal 
supply of grain at night. During October increase their 
grain rations and by November give them all they will 
eat. Oats and corn equal parts are the best for this 
purpose. Many farmers get excited and rush their tur- 
keys off for the Thanksgiving market regardless of 
flesh, and it is safe to say that fully 90 per cent of the 
turkeys marketed for Thanksgiving are thin in flesh and 
not fit to go, while on the other hand if fed until Christ- 



mas they command the same price per pound and gain 
in weight from 20 to 25 per cent. 

I have heard farmers with a flock of 30 or 40 head 
of turkeys say they could not afford to feed them longer 
than November 15th or 20th, when they were offered 15 
cents per pound, live weight, while at the same time 
they were feeding a bunch of hogs at four cents per 
pound and really making themselves believe the hogs 
were making them money. After feeding both for many 
years I firmly believe that a pound of tui'key meat can 
be made during October and November just as cheap as 
a. pound of pork, and there is a noticeable difference be- 
tween four cents a pound for one and fifteen 
cents per pound for the other. In proof of this 
statement I have not owned or fed a hog on 
my home farm for three years, but have fed as 
many as 400 turkeys at one time. 

One day i-ecently Cleveland market (juoted 
hogs at .$6.50 per hundred and turkeys at $20 
per hundred. These comparisons are made 
simply to show the difference in value of the two 
fai-m commodities; however they are not made 
to discourage the grower of hogs on the farm. 
I am safe in saying that not more than one 
farmer in ten the state over, grows any turkeys, 
therefore it can easily be seen that fully five 
times as many turkeys could be grown and mar- 
keted as are produced at the present time. 

Fully 90 per cent of the farmers in Ohio who 
do raise turkeys, sell too close and retain too 
few for breeders for the coming year. Many 
will only reserve a gobbler and two small hens, 
when four or eight would prove large money for 
them. 

TURKEYS THE BEST PROFIT PAYERS 

As an illustration of what can be and has 
been done with a few turkeys, will state, that 
one of my neighbors a few years ago' purchased 
a trio of young Bronze Turkeys for $9.00, and 
with the use of some chicken hens to hatch the 
first eggs, he raised 63 head of young turkeys, 
and in November he sold the entire lot to a 
buyer at market rates for an even $100, and the 
purchaser took them at the farm with no time 
or expense lost for the grower in delivering. 
These same turkeys were later retailed out for 
breeders for more than doiible the $100.00. 

At this date (March 4th) good breeding 
turkey.s can hardly be found at any price. 
On February' 25th to test this matter 
I sent letters to thirteen Bronze turkey breeders 
and all were advertisers at this writing in lead- 
ing- agricultural journals. When replies were received, 
onlj' six of the thirteen had a turkey left to sell, the 
others were sold out. The six that had a few to sell, 
which were mostly late hatched, were quoted from $5.00 
to $20.00 each, with the positive injunction to order at 
once, for they could not guarantee to hold even five 
days. This shows conclusively that the demand far ex- 
ceeds the supply in Bronze Turkeys, or in fact any 
other variety for breeders. 

I believe no branch of the poultry business on the 
farm offers so much opportunity, considering the invest- 
ment, to make a few dollars as the breeding of turkeys. 
No housing in winter is necessarj' as the.y prefer to 
roost in the trees about the place, or on the ridge of 
some building on the farm. 



STANDARD-BRED BRONZE TURKEYS 

An Illustrated, Detailed Description of What The Standard of Perfection Requires in Bronze Turkeys, Male and 

Female — Instructions on Judging by Score Card 

D. E. HALE, WITH SPECIAL CHARTS BY MB. FRAISKLANE L. SEWELL 




UR uational experimental stations have 
done some good work in investigating 
several of the very troublesome and 
fatal turkey diseases and many excellent 
articles are written each season by our 
most prominent breeders, on breeding, 
care and management of turkeys, so 
that turkey culture today is not such a hazardous under- 
taking as it was a few years ago. The turkey is also be- 
coming more popular as an exhibition fowl and many 
fine exhibits are seen at our annual poultry shows 
throughout the country. While there are presented in 
this book many excellent articles relating to turkeys 
and turkey culture, we realize that many of our readers 
will wish to exhibit some of their choice .specimens and 
for that reason this article has been prepared. We shall 
try to show how a turkey is scored and why the cuts are 
made. By the word "cut" we mean the amount deducted 
from the number of points allotted each perfect section. 
For the benefit of those who are just starting- to 
raise turkeys and who perhaps have never exhibited 
poultry of ahy kind, we will say that in scoring a turkey 
we work on the basis that a perfect specimen is valued 
at 100 points, a certain number being allowed to each 
section, so many for shape and so many for color. The 
judge examines each section, first for shape, then for 
color, and deducts whatever amount he thinks is lacking 
from perfection. 

Pictures usually speak plainer than words, hence in 
order to give a clearer idea of the correct markings of 
each section, we have had the charts which appear in 
connection with this article, prepared by Artist Sewell. 
These charts showing the feathers as they appear in the 
different sections of the fowl, we believe will give the 
amateur a clear under.standing of the plumage and a 
feeling of confidence in selecting his show specimens and 
breeders that he could obtain in no other way unless he 
visited shows and studied the living birds under the 
directions of a competent judge or breeder, or visited a 
successful breeder's yards, either course being frequently 
out of the question. We present a chart of a male and 
female Bronze turkey which will be referred to as Figs. 
1 and 3 in our description. 

There is always something to be learned so we trust 
that every reader, both the experienced turkey exhibitor 
and the amateur, will derive some benefit from it. 

Of course, we must take as our guide, the Standard 
of Perfection. We shall try to give in a clear, concise 
manner our interpretation of its meaning as applied to 
Bronze turkeys. 

SYMMETRY 

Symmetry is the first section that appears under the 
Scale of Points. There is probably no section that has 
been so much abused, or so little understood as this one. 
It is no wonder that it was reduced to four points when 
it had heretofore been valued at eight points. Judges pay 
too little attention to this important section and do not 
study it enough to get a clear understanding of its true 
meaning. The Standard defines it as, "Perfection of pro- 



IJortion; the harmony of all the parts or sections of a 
fowl, viewed as a whole, with regard to the standard type 
of the breed it represents." 

The latter part of that definition is what should be 
kept in mind at all times; i.e., "viewed as a whole, with 
regard to the standard type of the breed it represents." 
It has been described as "Typical Carriage" which 
caused more or less disputing. The -following illustration 
may help our readers to an understanding of the term. 
Is'otice a company of picked soldiers coming- down the 
street, they march in perfect time, with shoulders back, 
chests out and heads erect, the symmetry of each one and 
of the whole body is unquestioned. But notice the same 
men in quarters. They are the same men with the same 
clothes but thej' are relaxed, they lounge about with 
shoulders drooped — symmetry is lacking. 

In order to present your turkeys to best advantage 
to both the judg-e and the public, each one should be 
cooped separatelj-, ana the coop should be large enough 
so tuat it can turn around and stand naturally without 
having the tail broken and twisted and the head forced 
into an unnatural, uncomfortable position. Insist that 
j-our turkeys be cooped singly. 

THE MALE TURKEY 

Now let us study the symmetry of the male for a 
moment. He should be large in frame and deep in body, 
Avith a broad, full, well rounded breast, which varies in 
prominence according to the variety and which gives the 
fowl a stately, majestic appearance. The head should be 
of good size, long, broad and caruuculated, while the eye 
should have an alert, bold expression; the legs and 
shanks should be large, strong and straight and the dif- 
ferent sections should harmonize one with the other. 

We must remember that we are scoring these turkeys 
according to the latest Standard of Perfection which 
goes into effect July first, 1910. 

Symmetry is now worth but four points; it was for- 
merly worth eight. In looking at Fig. 1 we see a perfect 
specimen or one as near perfect as can be depicted by 
the greatest poultry artist. We find each part harmoniz- 
ing with the other and each part or section perfect in it- 
self. Were we judging a living specimen that showed the 
perfection of every jiart or section and all parts harmon- 
izing as they do in Fig. 1, we could not cut anything for 
•symmetry. But, were the tail too long and carried too 
high, we should cut one-half point, if the breast were im- 
mature or flat and the neck apparently too long, giving 
the fowl a lanky, ungainly appearance, we should cut a 
half point, if the bird were too narrow across the breast 
and back when viewed froin in front and above, we 
should cut one-half point. An outline drawing does not 
give the true idea of symmetry because breadth and 
thickness are to be considered as much as the profile or 
outline. In 18S8 the American Poultry Association voted 
to have the Standard of Perfection illustrated by profile 
or outline drawings. An attempt was made at that time 
to have these take the place of symmetry. The first 
Standards of that j-ear were illustrated with outline 
drawings but were soon abolished as ui satisfactorj-. 



12 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



Eemembev in judging symmetry that it is "the har- 
mony of all the jmrts or sections of a fowl, viewed as a 
whole." 

WEIGHT OF UROXZE TURKEYS 

Weight is the next section under the scale of points 
and it is valued at 15 points. This section is of a good 
deal of importance whether the breeder intends to ex- 
hibit liis fowls or whether' he is raising them merely for 
commercial purposes. The Standard weights for Bronze 
turkeys are: 

Adult code 3G lbs. Cockerel 25 lbs. 

Yearling cock 33 lbs. Hen 20 lbs. 

Pullet IG lbs. 

In scoring turkeys the Standard instructions are to 
cut 2 points for every pound less than Standard weight, 
using one-fourth pound as the minimum. 

For example, if an adult cock weighs thirty-five and 
one-fourth poimds it would be cut one and one-half points 
(See Fig. A.). Any one can easily see that a turkey which 
is not up to weight and is handicapped by a cut of one 
and one-half, will stand a poor chance of winning in close 
competition. 

Though many of the Bronze turkey breeders are ex- 
hibiting specimens weighing nearly fifty pounds and have 
been trying to get the Standard weights raised, it was 
not deemed advisable by the last revision committee. 

The market demands a turkey even below Standard 
weight and they sell at a higher price than the excep- 
tionally large ones. While the large specimen makes a 
fine exhibition bird, there is such a thing as getting them 
so large as to be useless as breeders; there is little call 
for them on the market except for use in large hotels, 
and they use them merely as "soupers." 



CONDITION 

This section is valued at four points, and refers not 
alone to the health of the specimen, but also to the con- 
dition of its plumage. Of course a bird should not be 
.shown unless it is in good health, and its plumage should 
receive careful attention. Turkeys should be handled 
with great care when getting them ready to send to a 
show, as they are naturally of a wild disposition and 
broken wing and tail feathers and mussed and crumpled 
plumage due to rough handling and lack of room are 
things that handicap 
a specimen and it wll 
be cut for such defects. 
A fowl showing signs of 
disease such as roup, 
cholera, etc., should be 
debarred from competi- 
tion. These diseases are 
contagious and the 
judge should see that 
any such specimens are 
removed from the show 
room to save other birds 
from being' infected. If 
a bird shows signs of a 




Ideail or Standard Bronze Turkey Male 

Fig. 1, Chart drawn by Frauklaiie I.. Sewell. showings outline and markings of Ideal Standard Bronze Turkey Male. 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



13 



cold or canker it should be cut at least one- 
half point. It it is rough and dirty from careless 
handling it should be cut one-half point; if the bird is 
cut and bleeding from fighting or other injury the cut 
should be from one-half to one. Specimens which are 
dirty and show that no care has been given them should 
be cut one-h.ilf to one point. 

HEAD 

The head is valued at five points, just the same as in 
the old Standard, and is usually good, both in Shape and 
color. The Standard says that in shape the head should 
be: "Long, broad, caruuculated," and in color should be: 
"Rich red, changeable to bluish white." This section is 
generally good and it is very seldom that we find a speci- 
men that has to be cut and if we ■ do, it is usually for 
being a little too short or having as it is commonly 
called, a bullet head. If such a head is found it should 
be cut one-half to one point. If the beak is too long or 
straight or injured, a cut of one-half is generally suf- 
ficient. 

The eyes are included in the head section and should 
be "broad, clear," and dark brown in color. They were 
formerly known as hazel eyes but the last revision com- 
mittee seemed to think that "dark bro^vn" was the better 
description. 

THROAT AND WATTLES 

This section is valued at five points as of old, and is 
usually passed without a cut or discount, especially as far 
as color is concerned. The Standard calls for "Heavily 
caruncalated." Once in a great while we see a specimen 
that is rather smooth in this section and it should be 
cut one-half to one, but such cases are very few. 

THE NECK 

The neck section is valued at six points and is divided 
three for color and three for shape. In shape it should 
be long and curve backward toward the tail. In color it 
should be "Light, rich, brilliant bronze." Please note 
that it must be brilliant and show a bronze sheen and 
that the Standard says it must be "light." The bronze 
shading is not as deep on the neck as it is in some other 
sections and so it has a lighter appearance. It is very 
seldom that a neck has to be cut; perhaps once in. awhile 
one will be found that is a little too long and straight, 
but not often. The color occasionally shades off to a 
brown on the back of the neck and if it does cut one-half 
to one. 

THE BACK 

The back retains the same valuation as in the old 
Standard, ten jjoints, but is divided differently as shape is 
now valued at four points and color at six points, while 
formerly it was divided evenly, five for each. This sec- 
tion in a turkey, as in any other variety of fowl is of 
gre;it importance, for v\'ithout a well balanced back the 
specimen is of little value as a breeder. In shape it 
should be broad and somewhat curved, rising from the 
neck and descending in a graceful curve to the tail. The 
color "from neck to middle of back, should be a light, 
rich, brilliant bronze, each feather terminating in a 
n.'.rrow, black band extending across the end. From mid- 
(.Vc of back to tail coverts, black, each feather having a 
brilliant bronze band extending across it, near the end." 

We have heard some breeders object that the Stand- 
ard does not give some definite length of back. This 
would be a pretty hard thing to do. In order to come up 
to Standard weight and still have a nicely proportioned 
and well balanced body, ■without appearing too flat, the 
back would have to be of good length and we might be 
safe in describing it as "rather long." We must remem- 



ber that the shape value of this section has been reduced 
one point and is now only valued at five points. If the 
back is too straight, failing to show the curve above re- 
ferred to, the cut should be from one-half to one and 
one-half. If the curve is too prominent, giving the bird 

Fi6. A 

POULTRY ASSOCIATION 

January 10, 1910 Date 
Official Score Card American Poaltry Association 

Samuel Smith 



Exhibitor 

Breed Bronze Turkey 

Entry 



Sex (^idi 



No. Band^ 



100 



Weight 34\ 





Shape 


Color 


Remarks 


Symmetry 








Weight 


1\ 






Size 








Condition 








Comb 








Head 








Beak 








Eyes 








Lobes 








Wattles 








Neck 








Back 


i 


i 


Flat—Dull 


Tail 




1 


Broiun edging 


Wings 




1 


Poor iarring 


Breast 


i 




Not full enough 


Body and Fluff 








Legs 








Toes 








Crest and Beard 








Sharpness of Feather 








Outs 


2\ 


2\ 


Score 95 



D. E. Hale Judge 

F. L. Bradford Secretary 



Reproduction of Score Card, Showing Sample "Cuts" for Defects 

the appearance of having a humped back, the cut should 
be the same. If the back is deformed or crooked, the 
specimen will be thrown out of competition. 

In color, if the feathers lack the narrow black bands 
across the ends, the cut should be one-half to one. In 
the males especially a shading of brown will sometimes 



14 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



appear in this section. It generally is a narrow edging 
just inside the black. When this is found it should be 
cut from one to two points. 

THE TAIL 

The tail is another impoi'tant section and one in 
which the color defects are as prominent as in any sec- 
tion of the bird. It is now valued at twelve points, di- 
vided four for shape and eight for color, while formerly 
it was worth but ten points, divided four for shape and 
six for color. The valuations are the same as for wing 
and both are important color sections. The Standard 
merely says that tail should be "rather long." It should 
also be well spread, for a pinched tail on a turkey would 
look as bad as on any other fowl. By studying Fig. 1 you 



upon examining Fig. 1 that part of the tail is covered by 
the covert feathers. In judging the specimen the judge 
examines well down toward the roots of the feathers for 
sometimes they are found to be solid black under the 
coverts. Should this be the ca.se the section should be 
cut one-half to one and one-half points. Sometimes broad 
bands or bars of pure white will be found at the base of 
these feathers. Some breeders claim that this is caused 
by trying to breed too wide a band of white on the tail 
coverts and on the ends of the tail feathers. Too much 
"white blood" crops out at the base of the tail, and it 
will sometimes show at the base of the wing primaries. 

Where we find these white bars at the base of the 
feathers, the cut should be one-half to one. Where the 
barring is irregular on the tail proper the cut is one-half 




The Pride of the Farm 



will get a good idea of the markings which the Standard 
describes as "Bull black, each feather evenly and dis- 
tinctly marked transversely with parallel lines of brown, 
each feather having a wide black band, extending across 
it near the end (the more bronze on this band the bet- 
ter) and terminating in a wide edging of white. Coverts, 
dull black, each feather evenly and distinctly marked 
transversely with parallel lines of brown, each feather 
having a wide black and bronze band extending across it 
near the end and terminating in a wide edging of white, 
the fewer larger coverts extending well out on the tail 
having a little bronze on them. The more distinct the 
whole plumage throughout the better. 

Tfie black band near the end of the feather should 
be a sharp distinct black having a shade of bronze, and 
the white band at the tip should be a clean, distinct 
white and not a gray. When these two bands are sharp 
and distinct as they are on a well bred bronze turkey 
male, no prettier contrast can be found on any bird. 
Should the white band be more of a gray than a white, 
it should be cut from one-half to one. The coverts should 
be transversely marked or barred with brown, ending in 
a wide black or bronze band, extending across the 
feather, wdth an edging of white. 

While the ground color of the tail feathers is black, 
they should be well barred the full length. You will note 



to one and one-half. Where the white outside lacing is 
mixed with gray or brown the cut is one-half to one and 
three-fourths. W'here the coverts fail to show a clear 
edging, the cut is one-half to one and one-half; if mixed 
with bro\\n or dirty gray, the cut is one-half to one and 
three-fourths. A tail that shows a decided edging of 
brown or red should be severely discounted in the show 
room and the bird should not be used at all in the breed- 
ing pen, for it is indicative of an outcross with the wild 
turkey, and is not, in color, a pure bronze. 

Fig. B on page 29 showing the outspread tail of a 
bird owned and bred by Mr. "W. J. Bell, shows what ex- 
cellent white edging is being bred. 

This half tone does not do justice to the bird's pen- 
ciling or barring, for it was much plainer and more 
distinct than in this picture. 

THE WINGS 

The wing section is another important one especially 
as regards color. It, too, has been raised in valuation, 
being now valued at twelve points divided, four for shape 
and eight for color, while formerly it was valued at ten 
points divided four for shape and six for color. 

It is seldom that we see a perfect vidng. We wish 
again to call your attention to Fig. 1 and to ask you to 
study the markings of the wings. The Standard sava; 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



15 



*"Bo\vs. liyht. rich brilliant bronze, ending in a narrow 
band of black; primaries each feather evenly and dis- 
tinctly barred straight across, with parallel bars of black 
and white throng-hont the length of the feather; second- 
aries, dull black, evenly and regularly barred across with' 
parallel bars of white, (the more distinct the better) the 
color changing to a bronze brown as the middle of the 
back is approached and the white bars become less dis- 
tinct: an edging of brown in secondaries being very 
objectionable; coverts a beautiful rich bronze forming 
a beautiful, broad, bronze band across the wings when 
■folded; feathers terminate in a wide black batid, forming 



irregular showing zig-zag tracings across the wing, the 
cut is one-hali to one and one-half. If the barring ap- 
pears only on one side of the quill, the other side showing 
black or a mixed up muddy color, the cut should be one- 
half to two. If the secondaries show a slight tracing or 
edging- of white or brown, the cut should be one-half to 
one, but if this edging is prominent enough to mar the 
beauty of the vsing, the cut is one to two and one-half. 
If the coverts fail in the black band at the end of 
feather, causing what would be termed an unfinished 
wing, the exit is one to two. 

In order to illustrate what good wing barring is, we 




Fig. 2. Reproduced from photograph, showing standard Barring on Wing of Bronze Turkey Male. 



a glossy, ribbon-like mark, which separates them from 
primaries and secondaries. The Wight coverts are barred 
similar to primaries." 

Note carefully the tracing of bronze on the wing 
bow. Up near the top the feathers are solid black, but 
as they approach the wing bar the bronze edging 
<leepens, giving the wing when viewed in the sunlight the 
color of burnished bronze. It might be well to go a 
little farther and say that the last bar on the primaries 
and secondaries should end mth black. We .should also 
remember that the barring should extend to the end of 
the feathers. . We quite often find a specimen that is 
unusually good in color, especially in primaries and 
secondaries, except that near the end of the feathers the 
b.arring- will stojD and the last two inches will be solid 
black. When the wing of the male is perfect in color, 
•except this black, mate with him females that show more 
white than black in their flights, and should you have 
one th^t has a wing with the last bar white, instead of 
black, she will be all the more valuable as a breeder. 

In scoring- the wing of either male or female, when 
this black appears at the end of the feather, the cut 
should be one to one and one-half. If the barring is 



call your attention to the half tone picture Fig. 2 on 
this page. 

Xote the sharp, distinct barring, also that it extends 
well back on the secondaries. 

While the tips of the flight feathers show as being 
black, we are reliably informed that this was the fault 
of the photographer and not of the bird, for they were 
well barred to the tips. 

THE BREAST 

The valuation of the breast section has been raised 
one point by the last revision committee and is now 
valued at eleven points being divided, six for shape and 
five for color, shape valuation having been raised one 
point. 

From a commercial point of view this is as it should 
be, for there is no part of the turkey that is more popu- 
lar at our national Thanksgiving feast than this section, 
unless perhaps, it is the well-known "drum stick." 

This section is seldom passed without a cut as it is 
very liable to be undeveloped or a little too flat, unless 
the specimen happens to be an old torn and fully devel- 
oped. In shape it should be "Broad, deep, full and well 



16 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



rounded." In coloi- it should be "Light, rich, brilliant 
bronze; feathers on lower part of breast approaching the 
body, terminate in a black band extending across the end." 

If the breast is too narrow or too flat the cut should 
be one-half to one and one-half. If it is too shallow or 
not deep enough through from the shoulder to point of 
breast bone, the cut should be one-half to two. If the 
color fails in the narrow edge of the black, giving the 
surface a dull, dead sort of color, the cut should be one- 
half to one and one-half. Should any of the feathers on 
the breast show an outside edging of white the cTit is 
cue-hall to one and one-half. 

BODY AND FLUFF 

This section, the same as breast, has been raised one 
point and given a valuation of eleven points, being 
divided, shape six, color five, shape getting the added 
point. The Standard description for shape of body is 
very clear, viz; "Long, deep through the middle, finely 
rounded." The color is given as "Body, black, beauti- 
fully shaded with bronze, but not so decided or so rich 
as breast. Fluff, black, each feather having a wide, bril- 
liant, bronze band, extending across it near the end and 
terminating in a narrow edging of white." If the body is 
too short or too narrow, the cut should be one-half to 
two; if flat, failing to show a nicely rounded outline, the 
cut should be one-half to one; if not deep enough from 



back to base, the cut should be one-half to one and one- 
half. If the keel is crooked, the cut should be one-half to 
one. 

We should not advise the amateur to breed birds with 
a crooked breast bone. While we read a great deal about 
them being caused by the birds roosting too young and 
by being kept on a board floor and several other things, 
we are convinced that it is bred in them the same as 
any other deformity and we certainly should not use one 
for breeding if it could be avoided. 

The color of the body is 
usually pretty good; once 
in awhile we find one that 
loses its bronze and has a 
dull brown look and these 
should be cut one-half to 
one. Sometimes gray tips 
are found, which should be 
out from one-half to one and 
one-half. See that the fowl 
has plenty of length back of 
the legs. If not well bal- 
anced and the bird has the 
appearance of having too 
much weight in front of 
the legs the cut should be 
one-half to one. 




Ideal or Standard Bronze Turkey Female 

Fig. 3. Chart, drawn by Franklane h. Sewell, showing outline and markings of Ideal or Standard Bronze Turkey Female. 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



17 



LEGS AND TOES 

This section retains the same valuation that it had 
in the old Standard, but is divided, three for shape and 
two for color. They should be, "Thighs, long, stout; 
shanks, large, long, strong. Toes straight, strong." 
Fig. 1 gives you an excellent idea of what a good turkey 
leg should be. Here we have a thigh that is of good 
length, and stout, the kind that carries lots of meat and 
muscle. The thighs should be the same as the breast, 
only less brilliant in shade. The shanks should be 
pinkish, in old birds, and in young birds will be dark, 
approaching black. They should stand well apart, giving 
the specimen a broad, massive appearance when viewed 
from in front. 

The toes should be straight and well spread. The 
legs should be as described by the Standard, of fair 
length so as to hold the specimen well up, but not so 
lorji; as to make him look leggy or lankj'. 

If the legs are too fine in bone making the bird look 
ftminine, Ihe cut should be one-hajf to one; if too short 
or too long, the cut should be one-half to one and one- 
half; if too close together or knock-kneed, the cut should 
be one to two. Crooked toes should be cut one-half each. 
If the legs are faded, dirty or scaly they should be cut 
one-half to one and one-half; if off-color they should be 
cut one-half to one and one-half. 

THE BRONZE Tl'RKEY FEMALE 

In Fig 3 is shown one of the best turkey drawings 
ever produced by any artist. Every breeder that has 



inspected this chart conceded it to be the outline of an 
ideal female. Although Mr. Sewell drew this picture sev- 
eral years ago, we have never seen any that could take 
its place. 

It is not necessary to go into a detailed sectional 
descrijition of the female, for she is similar throughout 
to the male, excejjt being finer in bone and not so coarse 
looking. In regard to color the Standard says; "Plumage 
similar to that of the male, except edging of white on 
feathers of back, wing-bows, breast and body, which 
edging should be narrow in front, gradually widening as 
it approaches the rear. Beak, eyes, throat, wattles and 
shanks and toes same as male." 

A common defect in the female is a brown color that 
shows on the outer edge of white lacing on the feathers 
of the back and breast. When this is found it should be 
cut from one-half to one and one-half. The back of the 
neck is more apt to show this than any other section and 
it occurs oftener in the female than in the male. We do 
not, of course expect as brilliant or bright a bronze in 
the female as in the male. Breeders by carefully 
mating together each year the best of the flock are im- 
proving the female to such an extent that it will not be 
surprising in time to find the same brilliant bronze on 
wings and tail coverts that we do on our best exhibition 
males. 

If the amateur will study well the charts shown 
herewth, also how each section is valued and how the 
common defects are cut, he ought to be able to pick out 
his best exhibition specimens and be better qualified to 
select his breeders. 




TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT 



An American Wild Fowl that in Domestication has Been Brought to an Advanced Standard of Excellence and Serves 

Highly Practical Purposes — Standard Requirements of Different Sections — Mating to Produce 

Exhibition Specimens — General Advice on Care of Flock 



S. B. JOHNSTON 




HERE are a number of turkeys bred in this 
part of the state, so that we are generally 
well acquainted with the different varieties, 
although our work has been confined to the 
Bronze variety. There are six varieties 
besides the Bronze in the Standard, namely 
the Narragansett, Buff, Bourbon Red, Black, 
Slate and White Holland. Then there is a 
white sport from the Bronze that is nearly as large as 
that variety and that has more desirable features than 
the White Holland, which is the smallest variety in the 
Standard. The White Holland is a good bird, but is too 
small and ^vill not bring the marketman as profitable 
returns as the Bronze or Narragansett. I believe fewer 
people raise the Black Turkey than any other variety, as 
it is not liked by shippers on account of black pin feath- 
ers. Bronze, White Holland or Buff Turkeys are easier 
dressed and pin feathers are not evident. 

The Bronze Turkey is the largest of all varieties. It 
matures quickly and by the holiday season will attain its 
full weight. It is docile and easily kept at home. It is 
said by some that the Bronze Turkey is not easily kept at 
home, but I have found that turkeys of any variety not 
having proper care will stray away. In hardiness and 
vigor there is no variety that can surpass the Bronze 
when properly bred. The wild turkey is so near in color 
to the Bronze that by carefully introducing new blood 
by wild hens the breeder can get hardiness and vigor nn-.^ 
equaled. Turkeys that are hatched in April, May a^A 
June will begin laying the latter part of March or the 
first of April the next year. I believe that all v^-rieties 
of turkeys in the same latitude begin laying about the 
same time. In this latitude they begin about the lirst of 
April more generally than in March. There seems to be 
always a good demand for turkeys of all varieties. It 
takes the Bronze variety about three years to get its full 
weight — in other words, to get its heaviest weight, wiile 
most other varieties attain their full weight by the 
second year. There are more Bronze Turkeys raised 
than all other varieties combined, which fact is proof 
enough that the Bronze has more good qualities than apy 
other variety. 

RANGE AND HOUSING 

Turkeys do not do well in small and crowded quar- 
ters. They can be raised to some extent on a small range, 
but such specimens generally are stunted in size and of 
poor color, just as is any other stock that is ill-kept. 
When the turkey was first found it ran wild in the forest, 
hence the love of range is about its first instinct and it 
will attain nearer perfection in size and color when it 
has freedom. Some writers advocate the housing of tur- 
kejs, but in my experience I have not found this best. I 
have learned that a turkey hen can take care of its young 
better that either a domestic hen or myself, as the tur- 
key mother seems to understand the little poults' 
chirping and knows what they need. I have tried raising 
turkeys in coops and pens, keeping them close to the 



house, but with poor success. When the season is not too 
severe, turkeys can be given the run of the place, and 
if they have good quarters in which to roost at night, 
under bushes or something of that kind, and are looked 
after during the day for a few weeks, they will not need 
much food, but will do better and grow faster than those 
kept close to the house and fed from five to six times a 
day. Turkeys raised in this way are less trouble, have 
better plumage and are more vigorous, and in the fall 
when the corn is being gathered they can be toled to the 
house to roost. Turkeys kept close to the house and not 
extra well fed will stray off, hence the advantage is all 
with the one who raises his turkeys away from the 
house. 

I have found that a roost built close to the ground is 
of great advantage to" j'oung birds that are growing fast, 
as it often happens that promising youngsters .are in- 
jured in flying from high roosts. I believe that a shed 
open to the south and closed to the north, east and west 
is of great advantage in severe weather in keeping tur- 
keys dry and free from drafts. Such a shed makes a 
good feeding place when there is snow or mud, and would 
make a good roosting place if the turkeys could be in- 
duced to roost in it. The great trouble is to keep them 
from roosting on top of the shed, but this can be pre- 
vented by running a two-foot wire netting around the 
top. I should not attempt to raise turkeys on one or two 
acres of ground, but with proper care a forty-acre farm 
will give ample forage for five hundred birds. In these 
days it is a large flock that contains more than one hun- 
dred turkeys.' They do best when divided into flocks of 
abbyt fifty. 

• M'ATINti BRONZE TURKEYS FOR PRIZE WINNERS 

If I vere asked fhe most essential point for breeders, 
I should say first of all vigor, then size, then fine mark- 
ings of plumage. The fancier must consider size, because 
nine out of every ten want size first. It is not the rule, 
however, that the biggest turkeys are the highest 
scorers, no matter how well they may be bred. To im- 
prove size, weight and markings, select the finest marked 
tom of good big bone, with typical carriage, strong and 
vigorous, and mate him with the largest hens possible, 
no matter if they are not so well marked. Then the next 
season reverse the order and if you are so fortunate as 
to get well marked birds of both sexes, mate them in the 
following manner: For the females, select tall, rangy 
birds, with long, deep bodies, broad backs, and full 
rounded breasts, with as big bones, feet and legs as pos- 
sible. In color, the head and wattles should be a rich 
red, but under different circumstances 'the head is 
changeable to bluish white. The plumage of the neck 
and breast should be a rich, lustrous bronze, the breast 
and back in front of wings showing a narrow lacing or 
edging of gray. The back is somewhat darker in color, 
as it shows a narrow black band across the feathers as 
they near the lesser tail coverts, these ending in a white 
or gray edging. The primaries and secondaries of the 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



19 



wing- feathers must be as neai- Standard as possible. 
I take it for granted that every breeder has the 
Standard, for it is the book of authority, and sets forth 
clearly the disqualifications. I would say, however, that 
the white or gray bars should be about three-sixteenths 
of an inch in width with the black or brown bars about 
three-eighths of an inch. They should be even and 
straight across the feathers. The tail should be long and 
black, with pencilings of light brown across the feathers, 
the feathers ending in a broad, black band with an edging 
of dull white coming right up to the black. The feet and 
legs should be dark, approaching black. This is of less 
importance in the females than in the male. 

The tom has more influence on shape and color of 
offspring- than has the female. He should be as near 
perfection in carriage and color of plumage as it Is pos- 
sible to get. He should be of medium size and of good 
\-igor. In my opinion, the Standard makes a mistake in 
calling- for larger birds, 
as this detracts from their 
profit as egg-producers. 
A good vigorous tom 
will mate -with eighteen 
or twenty hens. As to 
the best age for breed- 
ing fowls, I use a two- 
year-old male and fe- 
male one year old, or 
vice versa. Yearling tur- 
key hens will lay more 
eggs than an older hen, 
but the two-year-old hen's 

eggs will hatch stronger poults. Hens are profitable as a 
general thing until they are four years old. I have kept 
some good layers until they were six years old. As a rule 
turkeys are not profitable after they are four years old. 
Three to four-year-old tom turkeys usually become cross 
and irritable and are dangerous to have about where 
there are children. 

I have the best success with pullets from sixteen to 
twenty pounds, and old hens from elg-hteen to twenty- 
three pounds. They lay more fertile eggs than larger 
hens, are more active and healthy and make better 
mothers. Turkey hens do not all commence laying at once, 
and generallj' by the time the first layers want to sit the 
last ones to lay are ready to begin. Turkey hens should 
be carefully fed at the laying season if fed at all, as they 
will pick up on the range nearlj' all the food they need. 
If allowed to get too fat they -will not lay until late. It is 
a good plan to feed meat two or three times during the 
month before you want them to lay, as it ^vill have a 
tendency to make the eggs more fertile. Turkey eggs as 
a general thing are sure to hatch. I have had hens lay 
as many as four clutches of eggs in a season. Turkey 
eggs will hatch in twenty-eight days, but with medium 
sized turkeys it usually requires twenty-nine days, and 
eggs from very large hens frequently run over to thirty 
days. 1 have an eight-foot fence around about two acres 
on my home place that I use for the laying turkeys in 
, the spring. I use boxes and barrels turned on the side 
for nests. 

AT HATCHING TIME 

One should be very careful in setting turkey hens, as 
they are of a wild nature. It is best to try a hen, if oiie 
has valuable eggs, by giving her a few nest eggs for a 
day or so, then at night taking the nest eggs out and put- 
ting the good eggs in. Be careful to have the bottom of 
the nest firm and solid, so that the eggs will not roll 
about. Have the nest so formed that it fits the shape of 




A Klocb of Bronze Turkeys on the Karm of S. B. .Johnston 



the hen. In this way the eggs will all be the same dis- 
tance from the hen's body and receive the same amount 
of heat. Sprinkle the eggs at sitting time and two or 
three times during hatching time -svlth Lambert's Death 
to Lice, or some other good insecticide. If your hen is 
gentle you might take the poults out of the nest as they 
hatch. This leaves more room for those that are to 
hatch. If the hen is inclined to be irritable, it is best to 
leave her alone, as she may get excited and trample on the 
poults. I have successfully used incubators for hatching 
turkey eggs, but when it comes to putting the poults in 
the brooders it is another matter. It is all right to 
hatch them in an incubator if one has hens to which he 
can give the young poults to be raised. I never feed my 
young turkeys until they are twenty-four to thirty-six 
hours old., They are first given grit, then some oatmeal 
or groats. 1 use very little soft food. When giving soft 
food it is best to mix it with sweet milk and give only 

what they wall eat up at 
one meal, as turkeys 
should never have sour 
food. Give table scraps 
and any green food you 
may fiave. Cottage 

cheese is a good food for 
poults and is particu- 
larly good with cut onion 
tops, salted and pep- 
pered to taste. Oat 
groats are highly recom- 
mended as a dry food for 
poults. Give millet seed, 
wheat and then cracked corn. Feed these 



kaft'ir corn 

grains alternatingly. 

AT MARKETING TIME 

I have found that winter feeding differs froiD summer 
feeding, as in cold weather poultry needs corn on account 
of its heating and fat-producing qualities. Turkeys on 
the range in warm weather do not require much corn. 
If one has a large range the turkey crop is almost clear 
profit. Turkeys intended for market should not be fed 
heavily until within about two weeks of selling time, 
when they shoiild be given all the corn they -will eat, with 
a change of food as often as possible so that they vsdll 
not tire of the corn before they are fat. Make com their 
main food. 

The average price for turkeys on the market is eight 
cents per pound. When stockmen get five cents per 
pound for hogs and cattle they make a good profit. It 
does not take anything like the amount of food to pro- 
duce turkey meat that it does to jiroduce cattle or hogs, 
and it is very seldom that the turkey grower gets less 
than eight cents per pound. On the other hand, it is sel- 
dom that the cattle grower gets more than four cents per 
pound for his beef or pork. When turkeys are properly 
'-.aised they are a benefit to the crop instead of a waste, 
as they destroy numerous insects. In California turkeys 
are rented out to men who have vineyards, who turn the 
turkeys loose among the vines to destroy insects. Tur- 
ke3'S do not require to be fed on a grain ration until 
within a few weeks of marketing time, as they get their 
li^ing from the gleanings of the field. In this way they 
get a large frame, which the grower can fatten when 
selling time comes. Turkeys should be fed away from 
other poultry. Sandy or gravelly land is the most suit- 
able for turkey raising. Low, swampy land is not desir- 
able, as it creates rheumatism, to saj' nothing of the 
filth. 



SUCCESSFUL TURKEY RAISING 

With the Minimum of Labor — Laying House for Turkeys — Hatching the Poults — Housing Turkeys with Poults- 
Young Turkeys^Roosts for the Young Birds — Shipping Crates for Pairs, Trios and Pens 

MRS. M. L. SINGLETON 



Feeding 




AM AWARE that no two breeders manage 
their turkeys exactly alike, in fact, there 
are no iron-clad rules in turkey raising. 
Our surroundings differ so from those of 
others, that it is useless to formulate rules 
that would be impossible for them to fol- 
low, but there is one safe rule for begin- 
ners. No matter what your environments may be, start 
with the very best stock you are able to buy. If you have 
money enough to buy a good pair only, do not spend it 
for a trio or pen. If you can spare the money for first- 
class birds, of course a trio or pen is desirable. To the 
thoroughly equipped breeders who have years of exper- 
ience behind them, my methods will appear crude, doubt- 
less. It is not for the breeder of experience that this 
article is written, but for those whose advantages are 
not great and who must struggle perhaps for years to 
gain the knowledge that will make them successful tur- 
key raisers. 

I learned several years ago that I had neither the 
time nor strength to follow the hens around and hunt 
their eggs in fence corners and hedge rows, so I had a 
laying house built for them. It is not a very elaborate 
affair, but it accommodates them very comfortably. A 
week or two before I think it time for them to hunt 
nests, I have them driven every morning into this house. 
In this way they become accustomed to going in and 
usually by the time they begin to lay they will go with- 
out being driven. When the turkeys lay from twenty-five 
to thirty eggs, I set them under domestic hens, putting 
nine or ten under each hen. We find that there will be 
as many poults as one turkey hen ought to carry. Of 
course you have to use a great many domestic hens where 
there are many turkey eggs to hatch, but it pays, I think, 
as they hatch so much better for me than do the turkeys. 
I do not set the first turkeys that get broodj', but break 
them up and let them lay a second clutch. By the time 
the first turkey eggs have been incubated two or three 
weeks, the last hens will probably be getting broody. 

SETTING THE TURKEY HEN 

In the meantime, I arrange my turkey nests, which 
are empty barrels, as I consider them among the very 
best nests. I saw out two or three of the staves about 
half the length of the barrel, that is, just below the 
middle hoop. I stand the barrel in the corner of one of 
my po\iltry houses with the open end up, because I think 
setting the eggs on the ground causes bad results. By 
making the nest on the closed end of the barrel the eggs 
do not come in direct contact with the damp ground, and 
they are yet near enough to obtain sufficient moisture 
Tack an old piece of carpet or gunny sack on the barrel 
over the opening and another over the top. Put in a lot 
of new straw and shape it into a solid, but rather shallow 
nest, and it is ready for the turkey. In the evening 1 
remove her from her old nest and putting her gentlj- in 
the barrel, drop the curtain over the opening. I have 
previously put a few chicken eggs in the nest so if she 
is restless and inclined to stand up at first, there will be 
no harm done. The second day I raise the curtain and 
put food and water near the barrel, but if she does not 



come off, 1 let her alone for a day longer, and if she still 
refuses to come off, I lift her out. After she has eaten, 
I see that she goes back on the nest. When she has 
become accustomed to it, I lift the curtain up so that 
she can come out into the poultry yard and dust and 
pick around, always being careful to see that she goes 
back on the nest. I arrange a number of these nests in 
the different houses to accommodate the different broods 
that come off. A day or two before the little ones are 
due to hatch, I remove the eggs from one of the chicken 
hens, putting them under the turkey hen. When the 
little poults appear she is just as proud of them as 
though she had done all the work of incubating. As the 
little poults get dry and strong, I remove them to a 
flannel lined basket in the house. When evening comes, if 
the turkey is a very gentle mother, I carry them back 
and let them remain with her, as the warmth from her 
body strengthens them, but if she is a foolish old hen, 
I wrap the basket warmly and keep them in the house. 
When they are all dry and strong enough, 1 remove the 
mother turkey and her little ones to their future home. 
It is this home I wish to tell you about most particularlj'. 

HOUSING THE TURKEYS AND POULTS 
J do not remember to have read an article on turkey 
raising in which the writer did not suggest that a nice, 
shady orchard was a desirable place for turkey coops. 
Now I admit an orchard is all right, provided it is located 
where you can run out and look after the young turkeys 
at all times, but when one has all the work of a large 
house on one's shoulders and cannot get any help that is 
worthy the name, then I say most emphatically, don't. 
Here at Elmhurst is a large, shad^' j-ard at the west side 
of a building which has a porch almost the full length of 
the dining room and kitchen. A door opens out of each 
of these rooms on the porch. At the end of the porch is 
the pantry, which has a window in the west side, so if I 
am in either the dining room or kitchen, I can step 
out on the porch and see my turkeys, but if I am in the 
pantry, I can look through the window and see them, 
for it is in this side yard under the elm trees that my 
turkey coops are placed. "Turkej' coops in the yard!" 
I hear some housekeeper exclaim. Yes, for my turkey 
coops are very neat affairs and do not detract very much 
from the beauty and neatness of our yard. The coops 
are renewed each year, that is, T turn the last year's tur- 
key coops over to the chickens and get new ones, because 
for some reason mj' turkeys alwaj's thrive better in new 
coops. These coops cost only twenty-five cents each and 
a little work, for they are dry goods boxes sawed 
slanting, so that they are only about half as high at the 
back as they are in front. There are boards nailed on to 
extend over the front and rear. The lower boards are 
taken off the front of the coop and battens nailed on 
for the door, which slips back in place and is fastened 
with a wooden button which is just above the door. 
About six inches above the door another board is re- 
moved and screen wire nailed on to ventilate the coop. 

FEEDING AND CARING FOR POULTS 
Now we have the turkey hen and her brood in a nice 
new coop under the elm trees where jiist enough sunlight 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 




Fig. 1. Coop for two turkeys, showing lath 
at top, over which the cloth partition hangs, 
and the lath at bottom to which it is tacked. 



filters through to keep the ground dry, and not enough 
to hurt the teudere-st jjoult. The next thing is to feed 
them. For the first day or two 1 give them nothing but 
light bread soalied in new milk, and pressed as dry as 
possible, with plenty of black i^ei^per sprinkled over it. 
After that I feed them almost entirely on egg corn bread 
soaked in sweet milk, in which is mixed raw egg. Right 
here I w-ant to say, there is nothing better for young tur- 
keys than raw eggs. 1 learned several years ago that 
they are far superior to boiled eggs. I know that curd 

or clabber cheese 
is highly recom- 
mended by a great 
many persons, but 
I have found it a 
very injurious food 
for poults. I have 
believed this for 
several years, but 
nevertheless, I com- 
menced to feed 
sparingly last 
spring, and in less 
than two weeks I 
lost five or six 
poults, and in every 
case but one I 
found the curd 
packed in the en- 
trails. The other case was enlargement of the gall blad- 
der, caused from indigestion. 

Before putting- the hen and her brood in the coop, I 
cover the bottom with hay or straw, other^vise there is 
danger of the hen injuring herself from slipping on the 
boards. I once had a valuable turkey almost ruin herself 
in this way. The young ones, however, get injured much 
more easily on the straw. I keep the mother and turks 
in the coop for a day or two, unless the weather is very 
mild, and then I stake them out in an open place in front 
of the coops. This is done by tying a stout twine, such 
as fleece or wool is tied with at shearing time, to a short 
stake and driving the stake even with the top of the 
ground. I measure the twine so that it will not be long 
enough to wrap around any tree or shrub, but near 
enough to the coop so that she can go in, but not around 
it. The string I tie on the leg, just above the foot. The 
hen will work and pull at the string for awhile, but she 
soon becomes accustomed to it, and when I take her out 
to tie her each morning she seems perfectly satisfied. 
This way has a great many advantages to me over the 
old way of putting them in a pen in the orchard. In the 
first place, the hen cannot kill the poults by jumping in 
and out. Secondly, they are right in sight, where I can 
give them my personal attention at all times. Third, if a 
rain comes up, I run out, untie the hen and put her inside 
the coop. The young ones rush up for the food I give 
them and I put as many in with each hen as I think she 
ought to have, because you see X have several of these 
families in the yard and one mother is the same as 
another to them. By the time the rain comes, the hens 
with their broods are all safely housed, for it only takes 
a few minutes to attend to all of them. Fourth, by the 
time I give them their liberty, which is not till the poults 
are three or four weeks old, they have become accus- 
tomed to their roosting place, and the flocks are usually 
running together. The hens never separate, but all come 
in at night, bringing the whole drove with them. It is 
very seldom that they fail to come up, but if they do, I 
go after them and drive them up, because if they form 
the habit of staying out, it is almost imijossible to break 



tliem. When they outgrow their coops and .show signs of 
wanting to fly up to roost, I drive them into the turkey 
house, which is well ventilated, where I have roosts made 
about two feet from the ground. I do this for fear of 
sudden rains in the night, for I am not strong enough to 
get up and carry turkeys in out of the wet. I used to do 
such things in the past when my coops were kept under 
a shady tree in the orchard, but I realized that it was 
only a question of time when I should be compelled to 
give up the business entirely, or keep the turkeys where 
they coulil have my personal attention at all times. 

When they are a few weeks old I feed them any small 
grain that I have, but the principal food is corn chops 
dampened just sufficiently to cause the fine part to adhere 
to the coarse. As they get older and until they are sold, 
they are fed almost entirely on corn. They must be well 
supplied with grit and oyster shells. When I first com- 
menced to raise turkeys in such close quarters, I was 
told by all my neighbors that I would stunt them so that 
they would never recover from it, but as I raise the 
heaviest turkeys that have ever been raised in this part 
of the country, my friends have quit talking. 

I have been asked what preparation I give my turkeys 
for the show room, and my answer is, none whatever. 
From the time they are four or five weeks old until they 
are shipped to customers, they have the range of a one- 
hundred-and-sixty-acre farm, and as soon as they are old 
enough to withstand the hard rains at night, they are 
made to roost outside in the open air. If during the 
winter we have deep snows, and protracted cold spells, 
we drive them into the barn and allow them to roost 
there until the weather moderates. Managed this way, 
there is no danger of them contracting colds and roup 
when being shipped a long distance. 

SHIPPING CRATE FOR TURKEYS 
Seeing the forlorn and bedraggled condition of tur- 
keys shipped in pairs and trios to our station, made me 
wonder if the turkeys I shipped to customers looked the 
same when they arrived at their destination, and I de- 
termined to devise some means of preventing them from 
picking each other 
and breaking their 
feathers while on 
the journey. The 
crate I use is my 
own invention, as I 
have never seen 
one anything like 
it, and while it is a 
very simple affair, 
it answers the pur- 
pose admirably. I 
use narrow cloth- 
lined crates for 
shipping turkeys, 
making the crate for a pair just a little wider than for a 
single bird, and for a trio a little wider than for a pair. 
Any style of crate will do, but the ends should be up- 
right pieces so as to have something to nail partitions 
to. In making a coop for a pair, after the frame is made 
and before it is lined, nail on two laths lengthwise of the 
crate, one the width of a lath below the top, the other 
against the bottom. Nail them firmly to the upright 
piece at either end. These laths are just slanting enough 
to show the space at one end to be about twice the width 
of the other. When you have the laths firmly in place, 
take a piece of your lining twice the depth of the crate, 
drop it over the top lath, tacking it firmly to the floor on 
each side of the bottom lath. Now you have a good, firm 




Fig. 2. Showing coop for trio, with cloth 
partitions in place. 



22 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



partition, one that will sway gently with tlie motion of 
the birds, but IceeiJ them apart as effectually as a stone 
wall. If you ivish to ship a male and female, have the 
space on one side of the partition a little wider than the 
other side, as the male is always broader across the back. 
Make it just wide enough for them to rise up and sit 
down comfortably. When putting them in the crate, 
place the torn with head toward the wide space at one 
end and the head of the hen toward the ^vide space at the 
other end, having their heads at opjiosite ends. There is 
no danger of fighting, and the space being wider at one 
end and narrowing down at the other, there is no chance 
for them to turn around, which I have seen them do in a 
narrow crate that is the same width. In shipping a trio, 
follow the same general directions, having the wide end 
of the wide compartment and the narrow ends of the side 
compartments at one end of the coop, and at the other 
end, the narrow end of the center compartment and the 



wide ends of the side compartments. Have the middle 
space somewhat larger than the side spaces and place 
the tom in it, with a hen on either side. I believe the 
same plan could be followed in shipping a pen, making 
the crate wider and adding two more partitions. The 
crate must not be lined until the partitions are put in, 
because there is no room to nail. 

No matter how you raise or ship your turkeys, be 
honest in your dealings with your customers. In cor- 
responding with them, describe your birds honestly, send- 
ing a tail, wing aiid covert feather. If your birds are well 
marked, the customer can tell it by the feathers, but they 
have to depend on you for correct weight., shape, etc. 
Remember always, the golden rule and judicious adver- 
tising are the only safe rules to follow in poultry culture. 
If you do not sell all your birds this year or next, you 
will some time, and if you do, you will not be ashamed to 
look your customers in the face if vou should meet them. 



BREEDING MAMMOTH BRONZE TURKEYS 



Selecting the Breeders— Setting the Eggs— What to Feed at Different Stages of Growth— Remedies for the Dreaded Blackhead or Cholera- 
Hints on Turkey Rearing from One 'Whose Experience Covers More than a Quarter of a Century 



JAMES E. LORD 




ARLY in the spring of my eleventh year my 
father sent me to an adjoining farm on 
which our family was to locate in a few 
weeks, my duty being to stay with the tur- 
keys, to watch for their nests and to gather 
their eggs. If my memory serves me well, 
this was my first responsible share in the 
management of the fiock. 

The March winds were fierce and cold, 
but with undiminished interest I resumed the task each 
morning. The flock was made up of practically all the 
breeds and crosses known at that time and their wild 
natures were in strong contrast with our stock of to- 
d^y. I remember following one of those cunning crea- 
tures for the greater part of a day, but she finally eluded 
rae by taking wing and alighting in a woods nearly half 
a j mile away. 

Two years later 1 was sent to a distant school. 1 
recall distinctly the heartache I experienced in parting 
with "Old Yellow," a geptle house turkey that was all 
my own. The frequent allusions to this old bird in my 
correspondence with my mother attest my fondness for 
this part of farm life, which though interrupted from 
time to time, has been resumed as often with all the 
ardor of those days. 

Raising fancy stock was not very general then and 
showing was not even thought of, but our turkeys were 
sent to market in prime condition, were neatly dressed 
and sold at a premium even at that early date. 

Improvement in blood was first suggested to the 
writer twenty years ago when he received a present of 
a number of beautiful Bronze Turkeys from a friend in 
Vermont. They formed the nucleus of our present flock. 
The old tom became a wonder in intelligence and he 
was taught several tricks. At picking one's pocket he 
was an adept. While showing off one day he stumbled 
and his neck was broken. 

From time to time the best blood obtainable was se- 
cured, with the result that our birds were sought by ex- 



hibitors and many prizes were won at leading fairs. 
Then we decided to show our birds, with results so grat- 
ifying that since 1902 the greater part of our stock has 
been sold to fanciers and breeders. 

SELECTION OF BREEDING STOCK 

Much may be written on the selection of stock for 
breeding. Somewhere I have read that it is easier to 
breed a turkej' up to the requirements of the Standard 
than any other variety of poultry. I am not prepared to 
say whether this statement is true or not, but of one 
thing- I am positive. Never yet has there been a perfect 
specimen of Bronze Turkey taken from the show room, 
and so long as this is true none of us needs to be less 
earnest in his efforts. 

It has been our practice to keep as near the Standard 
as possible, size being the first requirement, shape next 
and color last. The defects in the female we try to over- 
come with the male, which must be good in all sections. 

Fanciers should bear in mind the fact that the larger 
part of our turkeys goes to flocks bred for the market, 
and that in order to furnish satisfactoj-y breeders we 
must aim to have birds of large size and those that ma- 
ture early. To produce this result, select females of 
large frame and mate them vsdth a cockerel, the largest 
and best of the breed that one can afford. 

Lately pullets are coming more into favor. They lay 
earlier and lay a greater number of eggs than hens, make 
quite as good mothers and are less wily. 

It is also desirable to have the broods off reasonably 
early. A few days give the earlj' poults a long lead over 
their later fellows, which is as great an advantage to the 
market man as to tUe fancier. 

Bear in mind that the male is one-half the flock, 
therefore do not stop at a few dollars for a tom that 
suits. An undersized tom from a standard-bred fowl is 
to be preferred to one overgrown where the quality of 
his ancestors is unknown. 

The matured toms are often too heavy and unless 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



23 



one can give them closer attention than is customary, 
the hens will be injured by them. It is a safe plan to 
keep sucli old toms apart from the flock, except when 
they can be watched. They are a necessitj' in standard 
flocks, but it requires a great amount of patience and 
perseverance to be successful with these extremely large 
sires. 

It is a safe rule to place one torn with ten to fifteen 
hens. It sometimes happens that a valuable tom is not 
inclined to mate. This diffic^ilty may be overcome by se- 
curing another one, prefer- 
ably smaller. When the 
two meet in the flock, 
jealousy will open the eyes 
of the old bird to his duty. 

For many reasons the 
hens should be induced to 
lay near home. Ours are 
so domestic that it is not 
unusual for them to nest 
in the buildings and often 
one is found in the hay 
loft. Collect the eggs each 
day, place them in a cool 
room and turn them every 
day or two until wanted 
for setting. The hen should 
then have a thorough dust- 
ing with some good lice 
powder. As a heavy tur- 
key hen is liable to break 
the eggs, it is better to 
hatch them under common 
hens. Put a few china eggs 
under the turkey until 
such time as the poults ar- 
rive, then slip one or two 
of the little ones under her 
over night and by morning 
she will be in a mood to 
mother the whole brood. 
By another daj' they will 
be ready to be taken to 
the field, at which time 
they should be carefully 
dusted. We have found one 
application sufficient for 
the season, but it may be 
necessary sometimes to 
apply the powder several 
times. At any rate, use it as often as required, because 
poults cannot thrive where lice abound. 

A slatted coop three feet square and two feet high 
placed where the grass is short and pulled gently to 
fresh ground each day serves as a home from two to 
four weeks. Occasionally a hen will not take kindly to 
being confined and in her efforts to free herself will in- 
jure if not kill her young. We know of no better way 
than to let her go and rear them as instinct teaches 
her. 




Bronze Turkey Cook 

Mr. F. L. Sewell, the artist who photographed this bird, wrote of it; 
"Judges and breeders at the Boston show admired Dan Amos not for his 
unusual weight of forty-six pounds but because his great size was modeled 
into such a beautiful form and on acco int of his majestic carriage and fine 
color. Those who are used to studying the exceptionally fine turkeys each 
year at Boston Show know that those winnings represent the best in the 
East." 



During pleasant weather two feeds a day are 
enough. From the very first this consists of a mash of 
wheat, bran and corn chops with a sprinkling of chopped 
onion tops, cabbage or lettuce, dampened with milk or 
water. Fine sharp grit is put where they may get it at 
pleasure and it is very essential. 

Make an iron-clad rule never to overfeed during the 
first two months. If you do, liver trouble will be the 
result and it will prove fatal to most of those that are 
affected, .\bout the fifth week cracked corn, whole wheat, 

barley or other small 
grains may be included in 
their diet to advantage, 
but the mash described 
above constitutes the main 
ration throughout the 
season, supplemented later 
by crushed ears of corn 
scattered about the yards. 
Mangels and cabbage make 
the best green foods for 
winter and they are 
greatly relished. 

It may be well to say 
right here that Indian corn 
is the chief food on most of 
the turkey growing farms 
during the fattening per- 
iod preceding Thanksgiving 
and continuing up to the 
holidays. The superiority 
of the Rhode Island turkey 
in our large markets Is 
due to its plump condition 
and pale colored flesh — re- 
sults of being fattened on 
the native white flint corn 
— and its neat appearance 
the result of being care- 
fully dry picked. New 
London County probably 
furnishes half the so-called 
Rhode Island turkeys and 
from one of the many 
flocks there the choice 
bird for the president is 
usually selected. 



CARE OF TURKEYS 
Early roosting 



perches should be discouraged for the reason that the 
tender breast bone is liable to become ill shaped and the 
market value reduced. 

The best roosts are those that are low and nearly on 
the level, otherwse there will be continual strife for the 
highest perch. 

Turkeys are healthier in the open air. On rare oc- 
casions one may be blown from the roost during a cold 
snow storm and perish, but we have yet to learn of any 
being frozen while clinging to the perch. 



TURKEYS ON FISHERS ISLAND 



Turkey Raising Profitable— They are Not Difficult to Breed Under Proper Conditions— Wide Range Essential- 
Half -wild Turkeys— Selecting Breeding Stock— Hatching and Raising Poults — Profits 



E. M. & W. FERGUSON 




T ALWAYS gives us great pleasure to write 
anything pertaining to Bronze turkeys, and 
especially to our turkeys, for our work with 
with them has been productive of much sat- 
isfaction, not to speak of a very consider- 
able profit. 

While we shall make this article 
chiefly a history of efforts in turkey breeding, rearing and 
exhibiting and a brief treatise upon our methods, we 
realize that all turkey raisers have not the same environ- 
ment and will endeavor to write in such a manner as will 
be interesting and instructive to every breeder wherever 
he may be and by whatever conditions surrounded. 

It seems to be an established fact that turkey raising 
in this country, particularly in the east, is on the decline; 
where years ago a flock numbering one or two hundred 
was a profitable adjunct on the majority of country 
farms, now these birds are found but rarely and then in 
flocks of a dozen or less, tolerated rather than fostered. 
The cause is hardly apparent; the thickening settlements 
have not yet encroached upon the solitude of many a 
back-lying farm where green pastures and sheltering 
woodlands offer ready for use, the best possible food and 
shelter. True, they may damage to some extent the 
growing crops, but they will render services much more 
valuable than what they destroy, in the wholesale destruc- 
tion of bugs and insects which threaten the farmer on 
every hand and which they incessantly pursue as the 
principal article of their diet. 

We are sometimes told that turkeys are difficult to 
raise and lacK a strong constitution, but common sense, 
backed by our actual experience, tells us that such is not 
the case. In fact if they be allowed to indulge their 
natural desire for a wide range and outdoor life the year 
round, and are properly bred, anything but strength and 
hardiness in their make-up, would seem well-nigh impos- 
sible. But where such cases exist it seems to us that the 
cause must be found in the absence of one or another of 
these conditions. 

We believe that a wide range is very essential and 
that although turkeys can be reared and kept in an en- 
closure of moderate area, a much less percentage will 
reach the highe.st development in size, shape or color. 
With this condition provided and a lack of vigor pre- 
vailing an inherent weakness must be present in the blood 
of the parent stock. This maj' be traceable to indiscrim- 
inate inbreeding or unwise mating. In no other domesti- 
cated fowl does deterioration so closely follow careless 
breeding, and for a farmer to breed the same small flock 
year after year with no further attention than is required 
to select the largest and fattest for his Thanksgiving 
dinner, is to invite failure by the most expeditious course 

Mistakes in adding new blood may prove equally de- 
moralizing; in fact, we can cite cases that have come 
within our own observation where a breeder has sadlj' 
depreciated the value of his stock bj' adding a bird which, 
apparently strong and healthy in itself, had an inherited 
weakness caused by poor breeding. We speak of these 
matters not to discourage the prospective breeder or the 
disheartened farmer, but to emphasize the advisabilitv of 



close adherence to the methods that have proved suc- 
cessful and the value of a careful study of the principles 
involved. 

Some years ago we managed to secure at heavy 
expense a flock of genuine wild turkeys, which, although 
purchased for the purpose of crossing with our Bronze 
to make a better foraging market bird, have proved to 
be of inestimable value for infusing new vigor into run- 
down flocks, and we sell every year a large number of 
toms for this purpose. The half-wild make a market fowl 
par excellence; they are rapid growers, carrying a con- 
siderable amount of fine-grained meat, and support them- 
selves almost entirelj' throughout the year by foraging. 
When crossed on the pure Bronze as a strengthening 
agent, reducing the wld blood to one-fourth, the in- 
creased stamina is the only apparent eilect. 

SELECTING BREEDING STOCK 

The selection of breeding stock with us begins as 
soon as the young turks are given their first food in the 
fall, say the first of October, when any bird that gives 
particular evidence of lusty good health and sturdy 
growth becomes an object of especial interest to be care- 
fully watched as it matures and finally selected for use if 
it has constantly maintained its robust health; but it is 
discarded if the slightest evidence of weakness has been 
detected. 

The final selection is made usually in January when 
the stock is at its best. We have found that one male to 
every twelve females is about the right proportion, and 
we advise that at least two males be allowed to run in 
the same fiock in view of the fact that occasionally a hen 
will refuse to mate with a certain torn, but can readily 
agree with another, and also to safeguard against loss 
should one of the males be, or at any time become, wholly 
or partially impotent. When one recollects that the 
female is served by the male only once in a season, the 
wisdom of this plan is obvious. But care must be taken 
to use toms that have been accustomed to each other's 
society and that agree, else it will be necessary to con- 
fine one each day while the other runs with the hens, 
changing them everj' night. 

We endeavor to get our breeders in a condition of 
medium flesh, as a fat bird never gives satisfactory 
results. For this i^urpose we consider oats to be the 
best food, and it is fed exclusively so long as food is re- 
quired during the breeding season. 

When we began with turkeys we did all manner of 
things supposed to contribute to their welfare, but we 
have gradually given up trying to do what they are better 
able to do themselves, until now we leave them pretty 
much to their owti devices and find the results far more 
gratifying. 

THE TURKEY AND HER POULTS 

Occasionally it happens that two or three hens are 
found laj'ing in the same nest, a proceeding which is 
usually discovered by the slightlj' different color of the 
egg's. In tjiis event we remove all eggs as laid, substi- 
tuting a couple of china eggs or duck eggs to guard 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



25 



against a change of nest. When one hen begins to sit 
we give her a full quota (fifteen to eighteen eggs) and 
confine the other hens for a few days, after which they 
will begin laying again in another nest. If, however, the 
discovery is made after incubation has begun, we prefer 
to let them sit together unless we can ascertain unob- 
served that there is but one sitting of eggs. And we will 
here state that we always try to make our visits at a 
time when the hen is absent, otherwise she may become 
worried and give up her nest. When the hatch is com- 
plete, we provide a little nourishment for the young 
turks in the form of stale bread moistened in milk; this 
will assist them to gain strength until they are well on 
their feet, after which time they get their food from the 
earth and air. Occasionally we tind one weaker than the 
others, by reason of slowness in hatching, which is 
unable to lea^e the nest with its mates; such a one we 
care for until it is strong enough to go with the hen. 
After they are all able to hustle about, we put poults and 
hen out in the low bush with which the island is plenti- 
fully supplied, and pay no further attention to them until 
well into the autumn, when we begin to get them to- 
gether for the fall feeding. 

As they grow and develop through the late summer 
and early fall they gradually form into several large 
flocks, which wander about together under the guidance 
of the old toms, each flock having its own roosting place, 
generally at least a mile from that of any other. In 
October they are found to be in excellent condition and 
require but little feeding to fit them for the Thanksgiv- 
ing market. At this time they are very suspicious of any 
one who tries to approach them, but soon become recon- 
ciled to the presence of the feeder and will surge around 
him %vith such force as to endanger his footing. Corn is 
the only food given at this season, and as killing time 
approaches we feed them all they will eat. 

The greater part of the market stock is devoted to 
the Thanksgiving trade and is shipped to private families 
all over the country; but there is always a certain 
number that are not fit at that time and which are re- 
served for the Christmas season. By furnishing each 
year a very fancy grade we find ready sale for all we 
have to dispose of for table use at a considerable advance 
upon the highest market quotation. These are carefuUj' 
picked and drawn, the heads, shanks and last joint of 
wing being removed, and are then packed in clean boxes, 
in which they are shipped direct to the residence of the 
consumer. 

December usually ushers in the advance orders for 
breeding and exhibition birds, in which we always do a 
large and satisfactory business. Having so large a 
number to select from (all of which are selected speci- 
mens from the hundreds that we raise), we find little 
difficulty in filling the most exacting order, and it is 
seldom that we receive a complaint. 

Although our business in turkey eggs for hatching 
was very satisfactory, we decided to discontinue their 
sale three years ago and have had no cause to regret our 
decision. We find it far more profitable to set every egg 
ourselves and sell the stock instead. In shipping the 
birds we know that the purchaser will get full value for 
Ms money, while in selling eggs too much depends upon 
various conditions. 

' PREPARING FOR EXHIBITIOX 
Our method of preparing turkeys for the show room 
is simple indeed. It consists wholly in taming the bird 
and getting it accustomed to being handled. Our turkeys 
coming from a range of over five thousand acres are as 
fit as only a free, v\'ild life can make them, full of rich. 



red blood, which sustains their vigor and spirits through 
the longest trip and the tedious, weakening confinement 
of the exhibition hall. They have a hard, smooth and 
wonderfully brilliant plumage, together with that robust 
development and noble carriage that is never found in a 
turkey raised in confinement. 

We select the birds that we are going to show about 
two weeks in advance of the time when they are to be 
exhibited, and alwaj-s take up more than we expect to 
show to insure having our full entry in case one or more 



! . 

1 1 






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<C- i'5 






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'>rL« 


m 


m 







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'Mi 



Alic 



A Bronze Turkey Hen. that traveled two thousand miles to shows and 
never was defeated. Owned by E. M. & W. Perguson. 



of the birds becomes damaged in plumage or otherwise. 
These are handled with the utmost care, as it is very 
easy for a struggling bird to break a number of wing 
flights or to strip feathers from its thigh, where a care- 
less handler is almost sure to get his grip. 

PROFITS 

To any one who has read the foregoing paragraphs it 
must be e^vident that turkey raising as it is managed here 
— and we know of no reason why our methods and suc- 
cess can not be duplicated in almost any locality — is much 
more profitable than any other farm crop that the farm 
can produce. Any one who is apt at figures can 
easily figure out the possible profit to be derived in 
his o^^Ti locality, which will be governed by the cost of 
food, the area of the range available, and the price that 
can be obtained for the product. 

We would say in concluding- that as many questions 
will doubtless arise in the mind of the reader which have 
not been clearlj' answered in this article, we shall be 
glad to see them at our farm, where we shall always be 
pleased to explain every detail of the business and where 
we can give far better instruction verbally with the 
birds and their home to illustrate our words. 




A Typical Forty-Found Bronze Turkey Cook 

The above splendid specimen of Bronze Turkey was Second Gobler at Madison Square C.arden. New York Show, exhibited by'Mr. 
George W. Salsbury. Forty-pound Bronze males are not rare at the leading shows; however males that are so much above standard 
weight rarely possess such rounded form in all sections. The great fault in most large poultry is coarseness, the medium-sized birds of 
the breed as a rule being nearest the ideal form. We present the above as one of the most symmetrical males shown above 40 pounds. 
The size, general form, character of head, and color points of this typical Bronze Cock are worthy of imitation on the best turkev ranches 
and where show quality is sought.— F. I^. Sewell. 



CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF TURKEYS 

Raising Bronze Turkeys in Canada — Best Soil for Turkeys — Inbreeding and Line Breeding — Shape, Color, Markings — 

Roosting Houses Used with Success— Young Hens as Breeders— Setting the Hen— Care of 

the Young— Diseases— Catching and Weighing— Selling Stock 



W. J. BELL 




LTHOUGH I am aware that turkeys are 
raised successfully on all kinds of soils and 
in nearly all locations, I believe that sandy 
land or clay with an abundance ot gravel is 
a better place than heavy clay soil, espe 
cially if the latter is not well drained. On 
two of toy turkey farms the soil is g-ravelly 
clay and there is running water all days of 
the year and from those farms have come my larg-est tur- 
kpys. 

When I moved to my present farm in 1893. which has 
no sand or gravel in its composition, I noticed the poults 
a day or two after they were moved out on the ground 
from the nest commenced 
to look sicklj'. I could not 
imagine what was the 
matter, as they were free 
from lice and their treat- 
ment was the same as 
previously given on the 
home farm. In watching 
them going around I no- 
ticed they were picking at 
small substances. I imme- 
diately procured some fine 
gravel for them, and an 
improvement was notice- 
able in about a day's time. 
This shows what is gained 
by close observation and 
also that the dying of 
poults is caused — not by 
the food given, which is 
usually the cause assigned 
— but through overlooking 
what may seem unimport- 
ant matters. I consider a 
fifty-acre range necessary 
for even a small flock. 



BREEDING SHOW STOCK 

Some writers say that 
to mate Bronze turkeys 
you have only to "discard 
all specimens disqualified 
by the Standard." After 
thirteen years spent in 
breeding these birds I 
must say I disagree with 
them, for I have found the 
selection of the largest 




Pit. 1. 



Feathers on rear of back were slightly raised by the bird's excitement 
at having his picture taken. 



specimens and inbreeding 
theai to certain extent will increase the size instead of 
decreasing it, but when carried too far inbreeding will 
impair the vitality and produce deformities. Therefore, 
to inoperly mate these birds is, I claim, as much of a 
problem as mating any of the Standard breeds of fowl. I 
•msh the reader to remember that I am referring to the 
production of Bronze turkeys for breeding and show 
purposes. 



In regard to the shape of the male I like one that 
stands well up. By this I mean one that, carries his 
breast high, the same to be moderately full and well 
rounded. I have no use for the bird that carries his 
breast and body in a straight line parallel with the 
ground. Fig. 1 is my idea of a good shaped bird, either 
for the breeding yard or show room, except that the 
feathers on the rear part of the back were raised a little 
when the photograph was taken. Select a bird with 
good, heavy bones, and see that the toes are straight. 

COLOR 

When you examine the different birds in the show 
room you will find on 
breast and neck almost as 
many shades as birds. 
There is the green bronze, 
the black bronze, a dull 
brown bronze and a yellow 
bronze. The latter is my 
preference, and what I 
think is called for in the 
Standard, although plenty 
of judges favor the black 
bronze color. The body 
and back will be darker, 
with bronze reflections. 
The legs should be pink. 

In the wings and tail 
are where the faults ap- 
pear. Spread the wing and 
look for solid black feath- 
ers in the primaries, irreg- 
ular barring in both pri- 
maries and secondaries 
and also a white edge 
along the bottom of each 
feather in the latter. They 
are bad faults. Fig. 2 is a 
good wing. The tail, which 
includes tail coverts, is 
seldom perfect; in fact, I 
have never seen one. The 
black bars near the end of 
the tail coverts (I mean 
the row of feathers lying 
farthest out of the 
tail proper) are generally 
missing, and two center 
feathers of the tail proper 
always have the white tip, the black bar and the brown 
barring more or less mixed. I have noticed the latter 
peculiarity in the wild partridge. Spread the tail coverts 
apart and look at the bottom of the tail proper and in a 
great many cases you •v^^ll find white barring the same as 
on the wing. This is another serious fault. Some 
breeders are satisfied with a tail which is all speckled 
with black and brown so long as it has the black band 
near the tip and a white tip. Now I am satisfied that 



Showing a Well-Shaped Bird for Breeding 
or Shoiv Purposes 



28 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



a feather regulariy barred with bruwii and black, with 
the broad black band and dull white or gray tip, is the 
proper color. Fig. 3 is as good in color of tail as I have 
seen. 

1 do not refer to all the shape or color sections, but 
only to those which are usually faulty or in dispute. The 
above will give you my idea of a good male to head a pen, 
except on one point, and that one in my estimation is 
the most important, viz., yo\i should insist on having a 
line-bred bird. If you \iRe a bird produced from two 
strains entirelj' different in build and in a great many 
sections in color as well, what can you expect? My advice 
is to have a good male sired by good males of one line of 
breeding. 

What 1 have said in regard to shape of male will 
apply to the females also. The Standard says of the 
female. "The entire plumage is similar to that of the 
male, but the colors are not so brilliant or clearly de- 
fined, and the edging of the feathers dull white or gray." 
Now some breeders say that hens should have a gray edge 
to breast and back feathers, and I must admit that the 
great majority of hens are marked that way; still the 
meaning I take from the "color of the female" section in 
the Standard is that they should have the same color as 
the male, and I claim that the females in all our shows 
are scored too high. It is not impossible to produce 
them, for I have produced quite a few and find a great 
demand for them. 

Young hens in my experience have proved the most 
satisfactory breeders. The old hens in a great many 
cases (and young hens sometimes) will lay soft shelled 
and misformed eggs in spite of all I can do. I have 
starved them; have had an abundance of old mortar and 
lime before them; have given them free range and every- 
thing- I could think of, but I cannot stop them entirely. 
I consider it the only fault the Bronze turkeys have. 
Usually I mate seven or eight hens with one male, but I 
think more than that number would still give satisfactory 
results. Any shed or building not too warm will do for a 




roosting place for breeding stock. They should be given 
free range during the daytime in all weather. I would 
advise feeding the male pretty well, but the hens only 
lightly. 

SETTIXi; THE HEN 
At this stage it is a good plan to have nests prepared, 
as I have noticed hens looking up nests a month in ad- 
vance of laying. Have them roomy, so the hen can turn 
and come off without breaking- the eggs, and place them 



* 


^^^^^^ t^SteaflS^(a; 




i 




1 


1 


w^^ 





Fig. Z-.K. 



Ten years ago this was considered an eiceptionallv good wing 
Bred and Owned by Mr. W. J. Bell. 



Fig. 2-B. The wing of a present day Bronze Turkey. Shows the im- 
provement in markings made in the past decade. Bred and Owned by Mr- 
W. J. Bell. 

in all the corners and secluded places that you can find. 
Bj' doing this early I save myself the trouble to a great 
extent of hunting the turkey nests. It is a good plan to 
watch which hen lays in a certain nest, and mark the 
eggs as you gather them, placing them in bran in a cool 
room until the turkej- wants to sit. Then dust the nest 
well with insect powder and give them to her — about 
seventeen eggs if she lays that many. Some advocate 
placing the first laying under domestic hens and forcing 
the turkey to lay a second lot, but here in northern 
Ontario the late July hatches are seldom a success. About 
two days before the eggs are due to hatch dust the hen 
and nest well with insect powder. I consider this one 
of the most important things to do, as a young turkey 
cannot stand a dose of lice the first thing. 

CARE OF THE YOUNG 
When j'ou bring the young from the nest mark them 
on the web of the foot with a small ijoultry punch. If 
marked when about twenty-four hours old they seldom 
bleed and the hole never grows together. By doing this 
and keeping- the hens' eggs separate you can ascertain 
which hen is producing the best birds. I now come to a 
period in which my treatment of turkeys radically differs 
from other successful breeders, but I have had very few 
casualties under this system and so I intend to continue 
following it, and, further, I can raise them by this sys- 
tem .lust as easily as chickens. About twelve hours after 
the last poult is hatched I take them to a lai-ger box — 
turkey and all. I feed them bread soaked in milk. They 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



29 



will not eat much at first, but by sticking- a little of it 
around the sides of the box and working- it on your hand 
among- them, they get started. I keep them in this box 
from one to two daj'S, depending- on the weather, and get 
them tanght to eat off my hand. Then I change them to 
an A-shaped coop with no bottom, and a lath front, and 
gradually 1 substitute shorts for the bread in their food. 

1 feed them their shorts entirely out of my hands 
until they are sold. I am very often told by my cus- 
tomers that they are surprised at the tameness of my 
turkeys. Another advantage gained by feeding out of 
j'our hand is that there is no food left on the ground to 
sour — a fruitful source of bowel trouble. 

Up till five weeks of age I feed five times per day and 
cut dandelion leaves fine and mix with the shorts nearly 
every meal. 1 occasionally cut onion tops instead of the 
dandelions. Give plenty of milk — any kind — to drink, and 
keep fresh water before them all the time. Something 
which should never be neglected is to move the coop the 
breadth of itself ever3- day. In mixing the shorts it is 
important to have them quite damp, but not stickj-. There 
is one fine grade of shorts it is impossible to mix prop- 
erl}-. I am aware some claim that feeding five times per 
day will kill the jjoults, but they surely have not tried 
feeding shorts and milk. Shorts digest very fast and I 
believe is a preventive of bowel trouble. At any rate I 
have found it a very slow-killing process. 

At about five weeks old I give the hen her liberty and 
let them have free range of the farm and roost on the 
fences or buildings until fall. I only feed twice per day 
during the summer — shorts mixed with milk in the morn- 
ing and clean wheat at night. If grasshoppers are 
plentiful they will oft-times refuse the wheat, but with 
me they never refuse the shorts. 

HOUSING 

When I first started 1 found great difficulty in getting 
them to roost in a shed at night during winter. I would 
spend over an hour keeping them from going on the 



fences and buildings, so I thought of a plan which has 
worked satisfactorily ever since. 1 built a lean-to on the 
south side of my farm barn. Twelve feet from the barn 
and parallel thereto four posts were placed twelve feet 
apart and seven feet above ground. On these were placed 
a four bv four-inch scantling. Then to the side of the 





Fig. 3-A, A tail considered fair teu years ago. Bred and Owned by 
Mr. W. J. Bell. 



Fig. 3-B. A M'jdern Bronze Turkey Tail, This tail shows the im- 
provement made in standard marking during the past ten years. Bred and 
Owned by Mr. W. J. Bell. 

barn, twelve feet from the ground, another scantling was 
spiked, and on these were placed the rafters. The two 
ends were then boarded up close and also the front, ex- 
cept what was required for doors and windows. 

Now the rafters were not cut close to the building, 
but extended over about four feet. Straight xmder the 
points of rafters 1 placed four short posts twelve feet 
apart and two feet above ground and boarded this two 
feet up solid. From these boards to the point of rafters 
was strung poultry netting. One and a half feet from the 
ground and against the two-foot boarding was nailed a 
V-shaped trough the entire length, thirty-six feet, and a 
door placed on the end of this "run." The inside or house 
proper can be divided into two or three compartments as 
required, with roosts, and a large sliding- door and a 
window for each compartment. I advocate placing the 
roosts on a level and about four feet from the ground. 
.\11 I have to do now is to place food in the trough, drive 
the turkeys into the "run," leave the sliding doors open 
and they have plenty of light to see their food and are 
compelled to roost inside. Then, again, if the weather is 
warm the windows can be raised and the sliding doors 
left open all night, and if cold all can be closed. Figs. 4 
and 5 will give an idea of this building. Of course the 
rafters are boarded over and shingled. 

DISEASES 

I shall touch very lightly on this part of the subject. 
I have had very few turkeys die from disease. At one 
time I housed them in a building much too small, and 
they contracted roup. I tried doctoring, but found it 
was not a success, and now use all my energies in pre- 
\ enting disease. 1 firmly believe if you let your birds 
have free range in davtime, feed at regular intervals and 



30 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



keep them free from lice you will have no more trouble 
tlisn in raising- any other line of live stock. My greatest 
trovibles have been soft shelled eggs and foxes. 

CATCHING AND WEKJHINC 

While our Provincial show was judged by score card 
and all birds were weighed, I was generally asked by 
competitors to catch their turkeys and place them on the 
scales, as I could handle the birds more easily 
than any other. In catching a turkey, if on 
the ground, I stand on' left side, place my 
right arm over its baclc and grab both legs. 
Lift by placing left hand under the breast. It 
may try to break loose for a second or two, 
but hold steady, and it will give up. If the 
bird is on a perch, grab by both legs from 
behind — right hand for right leg and .left 
hand for left leg — and di^aw quickly from the 
perch so its breast ox, wings will not strike 
it; then hojd steadily while it flaps, after- 
wards it will i-emain quiet if held by the legs. 
In placing on the scales hold its feet toward 
you with the right hand and breast with the 
left. Lay it on its right side and pull its 
right wing down towards its breast as much 
as possible when withdrawing your left 
hand. Make your movements gradual and 
quiet and you will have very little trouble. 
It is almost impossible to get their weight 
while standing on their feet. In weighing as above if 
small counter scales are used it is advisable to place a 
box of the same size as the scales and about one foot 

higher under the scales, as 
the head and tail of the tur- 
keys will droop a little on 
each side and having the box 
under the scales prevents 
them touching the floor. 

SELLING STOCK 

It would require a whole 
book to treat this subject 
properly, as it includes ad- 
vertising and making coops. 
I think the best advice I can 
give is to be perfectly honest 
and truthful. I have found 
more persons lie about the 
weights of their turkeys 
than about any other one 
thing in this world. I have 
bought turkeys at different 
times to be a certain 
weight and in almost every 
case have found them five 
to ten pounds short. I am 
aware that turkeys will 
lose about two pounds in transit, no matter how 
short the distance, but seldom more. Then again you 
will notice prominent breeders using cuts that have 
been in existence for vears, as if said cuts were from 



photographs of their stock. A case of this kind which 
amused me and caused me not to trust a leading 
breeder with my order was to find a cut on his envelope 
and underneath labeled "S — 3rd, 1st prize cockerel at 

C , 1899," and right in front of the cut in small type 

was "F. L. Sewell, 1897," which showed that the cut was 
made before the bird it was supposed to represent was 
hatched. 



/ 





Fli. 4. W. J. Bell's Turkey House 

With roof cut away to show interior arrangement. 

In regard to advertising, I wo\ild say try small ads in 
different papers and then increase the space in those 
papers which give best results. Do not try to make 
people believe you have the only good ones on earth, but 
state just what you have done in the show room and 
what you have to offer. Showing comes under the head of 
advertising, and I find it must be done or we drop out. I 
would say exhibit at the largest shows, as it is not the 
amount of money you can "clear" at the show, but the 
amount of reputation for good stock that you can gain. 
Answer all correspondence promptly and be careful to 
answer all questions asked as far as it lies in your poyyer. 
L^pon receipt of an order acknowledge by first mail, Stat- 
ing what day you will ship. ' -r- ' 



Fit. 5. 
Runivay in Turkey House. 

Showing Feeding Trough and 
Wire Netting, 



For shipping coops I use dry basswood; Take fpiir„t 
pieces one and one-half by one and one-half incites' arid • 
thirty inches long- for corner posts. Nail two pieces, 
three inches wide, two feet long and one^half inch thick, 
on each end, and two pieces three inches wide, three feet 
long and one-half inch thick on each side. This will give 
you a light square frame. Nail on a bottom of one-half 
inch basswood and two pieces three inches wide, one-half- 
inch thick on top. Tack factory cotton all around the 
coop and after the cotton is on nail lath about four 
inches apart around the coop. This makes a light, strong 
coop in which to ship a pair of youxig turkeys.' 

For old birds it would have to be larger in every 
way, and for a single bird it could be narrower. I gen- 
erally try to ship by night trains, as the birds are quieter 
at night and do not abuse themselves so much by break- 
ing their feathers and bruising their flesh. 



HATCHING AND REARING BRONZE TURKEYS 



A Successful Breeder of Mammoth Bronze Turkeys Gives Valuable Advice lor the Beginner with Turkeys — Importance 
of Properly Conditioned Breeding Stock — Management of Layers and Care of Eggs — Housing, Feeding and Rearing 



RALPH S. MOSELY 




I HIS article being' composed i^articularly for 
the benefit of the beginner, or amateur, who 
is starting' in or who has trouble in raising 
turkeys, I ■mil try to write so anyone can 
understand how I have raised Mammoth 
Bronze Turkeys, year after year, and what 
I have found the most practical way to 
hatch and rear them. 
How often one hears people say that turkeys are 
hard to hatch and raise. It is a settled fact that turkej's 
cannot be raised under the same conditions as most 
chickens are, as we know that the turkey is not domesti- 
cated the same as a chicken, but we 
do know that if turkeys are given 
range and a place to thrive, %vlth 
good, sensible care, they become as 
easy to raise as chickens. 

Before saying anything about 
the hatching of eggs, let us con- 
sider the breeding stock that pro- 
duces the eggs. The question 
arises, "Are you sure your stock is 
in the best condition to breed 
from?" The best condition means 
that they should be well matured, 
vigorous and free from diseases. 
As the breeders are the founda- 
tion of your flock of young tur- 
keys, this coming year, you should 
note carefully this important 
point, as those who breed from 
the late hatched, or scrubs, are as 
a rule, the ones to complain that 
turkeys are hard to raise. 

FERTILITY OF EGtJS 
Some amateurs say "My turkey 
eggs don't hatch well. What is the 
trouble? I feed them all they 
want to eat and give them the best 
of care." There are quite a few 
reasons for eggs being infertile; 
some, on account of the turkeys 
not being healthy, others, because 
the stock is confined in too small 
a yard, but the principal reason is 
becau.se the turkeys are too fat, not 

having been reduced in flesh during the winter after they 
were selected from the flock that was fattened for market. 

MANAGEMENT OF LAYERS AND CARE OF THE EGGS 
My breeders are fed oats and Canadian peas, once a 

day, during the winter and spring, and about a month 

before I think they will lay, I begin to feed some ground 

bone, once or twice a week. 

The ground bone tends to make them lay earlier, and 

makes the eggs more fertile, especially if there is no 

green food to be obtained in the fields. 

About two weeks before they commence to lay, I 

place some salt barrels on their sides, along rail fences 




Victor seven and a lialf months old, weight 
35% pounds. Bred and owned by Ralph S, 
Mosely. 



near brush heaps, a little way from the house, and put 
some straw and leaves in each, -ivith a nest egg. By mak- 
ing nests in this manner, I have no trouble in keeping 
the turkeys from running to the other end of the farm, 
thereby lo.sing a part of the eggs. 

I gather the eggs every day, marking upon each egg 
the date and name of hen laying same. By doing this, 
1 know how old each egg is, and can keep the pedigree of 
each turkey when hatched. As quickly as the eggs are 
secured, they are put in a room where the temperature 
ranges from 50 to GO degrees and turned once in one or 
two days, until I want them to set. 

SETTING AND HATCHING 
Those who have observed care- 
fully, know that generally when 
the first turkey commences to 
sit, the last one of the flock be- 
gins to lay, and to keep the first 
turkeys lajing, I break them up 
and make them lay a second lit- 
ter. 

When the turkeys are half 
through laying (about twenty 
days from the time the first egg 
is laid) I gather all the eggs laid 
up to that time and set them 
under chicken hens, giving eight 
or nine to each hen, according to 
her disposition and size. The 
nest is made one foot high and 
fifteen inches square on the sides. 
In one side there is an opening 
for the hen to enter. A frame of 
muslin is hinged on the top for a 
cover, ventilation and conven- 
ience. 

The nest material is a sod 
about fourteen inches square and 
two or three inches thick, and to 
make the nest concave, the bot- 
tom of the sod is scraped a little 
in the middle, then a thin layer 
of straw is placed on top. The 
sod makes the best nest, as it 
gives the eggs the right amount 
of moisture, to give the best results. As previously 
stated, I set my turkey eggs under hens, so I can get 
more eggs from the turkeys, and because there will be 
no disturbance from foxes, skunks, etc. Two or 
three times the sitting hens are dusted ■with in- 
sect powder until I am sure there are no lice left to dis- 
turb the poults. Enough gentle sitting turkey hens are 
kept in reserve to take care of the poults when hatched. 
When the eggs are about to hatch (about twenty- 
seven days) I give a few of them to each turkey to 
hatch, so that she will own the young poults. I have had 
turkeys, that, after sitting only three days, became the 
liest of mothers. I leave the poults in the nest, fixing 



32 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



the oijening so they cannot drop out and get chilled. At 
the expiration of forty-eight or fifty hours, I look the 
poults over carefully and if I find any of them wth the 
yolk sack not absorbed and digested, I leave them in the 
nest, taking out the rest and giving twenty poults to 
each turkey in their respective coops or houses. 

HOUSES, FEED, REARING, ETC. 

There are two ways of rearing turkeys, one by put- 
ting the young turks out with their mothers at the 
other end of the farm and letting them shift for them- 
selves until fall, while another (and better for me) is 
partial confinement when j-oung, giving them free range 
when older; feeding once or twice a day to induce them 
to come home. The latter way produces larger boned 
turkeys, and insures more freedom from foxes, etc. 

My turkey houses for the young poults are 10 by 20 
feet, divided by partitions into three apartments. The 
south end of the house has four windows, and the east 
side two. The four windows in the south are kept open 
except when it storms they are covered by muslin cur- 
tains. When forty-eight hours old I give the first feed 
of fine chick grit, charcoal and water. The grit gives the 
poults teeth for the next feed and starts the machinery 
going; second feeding is stale bread soaked in sweet milk 
squeezed dry, part of a hard boiled egg and enough pow- 
dered charcoal to give the food a darkish color. Feed 
this every two or three hours for three days. Once a 
day feeding green food, such as onion tops, lettuce or 
dandelion leaves, chopped; grit and fresh water is kept 
constantly before them. It is very important that they 
do not have all they will eat at each meal, as their sys- 
tems cannot stand the strain of continual gorging — it 
causes liver trouble or diarrhoea, when about four to 
six weeks old. When three days old I let the hens and 
poults out in the middle of the day, if pleasant; after a 
week they are able to stay out all day, and they are then 
fed three times a day on bread, eggs and charcoal, until 
two weeks of age, when the egg is left out and wheat 



fed at night until three weeks of age. After this they 
are gradually worked on to johnny cake and 
curds in the morning and wheat at night. The 
johnny cake is composed of two parts white mid- 
dlings, one part corn meal, one part ground oats, a 
little pure beef scraps, mixed with skim or sweet milk, 
and baked until thoroughly done. When fed take 

as much cake as will be required at one feeding, mixing- 
\vith one-third milk curds giving them only what they 
will eat up quickly. 1 continue this feed for one month, 
after that feed oats, peas and skim milk to give growth. 
By this method of feeding have raised j'oung toms that 
would weigh 37;/; pounds at eight months of age. being 
just in ordinary breeding condition. 

LICE 
Young poults should be looked after very often and 
see that lice are destroyed with good insect powder. 
Look sharp for they are hard to see. Lice will kill a 
poult in a ^ery short time. 

INDIGESTION OR WHITE DIARRHOEA 
It is generally caused by over-feeding, letting them 
out when the grass is wet, thereby getting chilled, filthy 
drinking water, or irregular feeding. I have found pow- 
dered charcoal, mixed in with the feed an excellent rem- 
edy for this, at the same time keeping them dry. Sweet 
milk scalded in which a little nutmeg is grated is also a 
good remedj'. 

SUMMARY OF SUCCESSFUL TURKEY RAISING 

1. Breed only from vigorous, well matured stock. 

2. Keep stock in healthy condition. 

3. Do not let poults run in wet grass. 

4. Do not over-feed or starve young poults. 

5. Make war on the lice. 

0. Prevent disease by disinfection. 

7. Use your best judgment and common sense. 

8. Give plenty of range. The turkey is naturally a 
wild bird and will not thrive in confinement. 



SOME PRACTICAL HINTS 



O. E. SKINNER 




HILE I have not had as much experience in 
raising turkeys as a good manj^ others, I 
have had continued experience with them 
for o\er thirty years, but my remarks on 
1he turkey will be from a practical stand- 
point and I shall leave the fancier's por- 
tion to some expert judge. 
In the first place, everj'body knows that turkey eggs, 
as a rule, hatch well, but the rock that wrecks all hopes 
is the art of raising- them after they are hatched. One of 
the most successful turkey raisers I ever knew handled 
her young turkeys about as follows: She never let them 
out while there was the least particle of danger of get- 
ting their plumage damp, even if she had to confine them 
a whole day. I was there once after a heavy rain and she 
had them closely confined in a small box. I made the 
remark, "You will surely kill every one of them confining 
them in such a place." But upon visiting her a few- 
months later she still had every turkey that had hatched. 
I believe this is the great secret in turkey raising— keep 
them absolutely dry and free from lice and nature vnW 
do the rest. 



.Vnother neighbor who is just about as successful 
handles his the same way, only he uses turkey hens for 
mothers. He follows the same plan about keeping them 
from getting their plumage damp when young. He has 
domestic hens sitting on the eggs, but he keeps giving 
them at night to the turkey hens until they have some 
twenty-five or thirty each. 

WELL SHAPED BIRDS COMMAND A PREMIUM 
The cry nowadays is for as large turkeys as pos- 
sible. This is all right provided you retain the full 
breast and good shape generally. If you ^vill observe the 
daily market reports, you will notice that the quotations 
say that scrawny turkeys (poor shape) are either not 
wanted or vnll be taken only at a big discount. So after 
all it is the shape that sells the turkey rather than the 
overgrown size. I have always made it a point to breed 
for full breast and good shape more than for oversize. 
As to feed, I do not believe it cuts much figure if the 
other sanitary conditions, noted above, are closely fol- 
lowed. Plenty of sharp grit I believe necessary for best, 
results, however. 



POINTS ON TURKEY BREEDING 



Loss of Vitality in Turkeys and Lack of Fertility in Eggs — Injured Females — Food for the Young — Danger from Lice — Their Causes- 
Care of the Layers and Sitters — Indigestion and Diarrhoea — Preparation for Market — The Poults — 
Feeding the Breeding Stock — Advantages of Roosting Outside 



!J. F, CHANGLE 




RONZE turkeys are more raised than anj- other 

variety, for several reasons. First, they are 

the largest; second, they are hardy and well 

adapted to this climate; third, they are good 

layers and the best of mothers; fourth, they 

are most satisfactory for marketing, being 

full-breasted and possessing the desired color of flesh. 

They will lay eighteen to forty eggs a season under 

proper care. 

Generally it is considered that one male will mate 
with six to ten females. 1 have used one male for twenty- 
five hens, but 1 do not think it well to risk using only 
one male with j'our entire flock (especially if you have 
more than eight or ten females) for the following rea- 
son: A female usually allows the male to tread once. If 
from any cause the male did not effect proper connection, 
the eggs would not be fertile and the best part of the 
season would be lost because the first litter is considered 
the best. 

The hen after connection selects a spot for her nest 
and a few days after it is made. This is usually done by 
scratching up the earth so as to make a hollow place to 
keep the eggs from rolling out. A great deal of the risk 
of males not fertilizing the eggs could be avoided in the 
following way: Use two toms alternately every day, but 
under no consideration allow both toms to run with the 
females at the same time. If you do you will, as a rule, 
have bad luck, as the males will fight and at times hurt 
themselves, also the females. 

The lack of fertility in eggs and vigor in young poults 
is one of the main reasons for the decline in turkey 
breeding in the eastern states, and perhaps all over the 
United States. In many of the eastern states, where a 
few years ago hundreds of tons of turkeys were raised, 
they now have to import mostly from western states, to 
meet the demand, as it seems almost impossible to raise 
them. I think the main cause is in-breeding. There are 
many farmers who in the past have not thought it neces- 
sary to obtain new blood, and who thought they could 
save a few dollars by borrovring a tom from a neighbor, 
in this way using the same blood year after year. This 
has been done for so many years that the vitality has 
been about bred out. For the past few years turkey 
breeders no doubt have seen their folly, because many of 
thena are now looking months ahead for a good male. 
The vitality had gotten so low that it created disease, 
and I am sure that many of the turkey diseases with 
which we have to contend have been caused by lowering 
the vitality of the turkey. I believe there is no other 
variety of birds in which the vital forces decrease so 
rapidly by in-breeding as in the turkey. 

I think it possible under proper management to raise 
turkeys in every state in the Union, and I believe if 
farmers in general will be more careful about in-breeding 
and will see that they have the proper kind of males to 
breed from, such as vvdll introduce new, strong, hardy 
blood into their stock, they will be able to raise turkeys 
as they have in years gone by. To people who are having 
trouble in raising turkeys I advise using a half wild male 
if they have large range. It is almost impossible to get 
a pure wild torn in this country, although you may hap- 



pen to run on one by accident. About all the people who 
claim to have wild turkeys have nothing but half-breeds, 
yet with a half vnld tom you can get enough new blood 
to make the offspring very much stronger, and this will 
be noticeable the first season. 

THE LAYING AND HATCHING SEASON 
After the turkey commences to lay, in many sections 
of the country, the nights are cold and in many places the 
thermometer goes down to the freezing point. When 
hens are laying and you are afraid of frost, the eggs 
should be gathered every evening and marked vrith the 
date. Then they should be placed in a pan or basket in 
common wheat bran with the big end of the eggs down, 
as by so doing you will keep the air cell in good condi- 
tion. Put them in a cellar or any cool place and turn 
them every day. It is not best to turn them completely 
over; turn them only part way over each day. It is safe 
to keep them ten or twelve days, but I would not advise 
keeping them any longer than possible, as they are liable 
to get stale, in which case not so many of them would 
hatch. When the eggs are removed from the nest a glass 
egg should always be put in. If you do not put glass or 
wooden eggs in the nest the hen will probably leave her 
nest and lay elsewhere. 

A good mother will cover her eggs when she leaves 
her nest; usually this is done with dry grass or leaves, so 
that in looking for a turkey nest it is always necessary 
to be careful, as otherwise one might step on it. An 
ordinary hen will cover eighteen eggs. If she lays more 
than that number, take the extra ones and put them 
under a common hen, setting this hen and the turkey at 
the same time. If you have a good hatch and get out 
more than eighteen, leave a few of the poults with the 
common hen. The turkey hen can brood eighteen poults 
with safety. Above all things, see that there are no lice 
on the hen when she hatches, as the poults are very 
tender when hatched and if the hen has lice the poults 
will have them on their bodies within a few hours. When 
you transfer poults from common hens to turkey hens 
dust them well with a good powder, as you want to be 
sure there are no lice on them. 

It takes twenty-eight to twenty-nine days to hatch 
turkey eggs. If the turkey does not leave her nest at 
that time do not disturb her for at least twenty-four 
hours, because oftentimes a few of the eggs are slow in 
hatching and she stays on the nest several hours after 
they are hatched for the poults to gain strength. It is 
always well to take a piece of stale bread moistened virith 
milk and put it near the nest, near enough for the tur- 
key hen to reach it. If the poults are hungry, they will 
also eat. This food is very important because if the hen 
is hungry she may leave her ne.st before she should, look- 
ing for food. We must remember she leaves her nest only 
three or four times in twenty-eight days. If she does not 
appear inclined to move to get the food, do not disturb 
her, as it is a very easy matter to find out whether she 
has hatched any young, for as a rule, broken egg shells 
will be seen near the nest. At the expiration of thirty 
days, if you see no signs of the young turkeys, it will be 
well to investigate the matter by raising the turkey off 



34 



TURKEYS— THEIR C.VRE AND MANAGEMENT. 



the nest and ascertaining' whetlier tlie eggs are fertile or 
not. If tliey should prove to be infertile, shut up the 
female for four or five days in a coop large enough for 
her to get a little exercise. Give her food and water and 
a place to dust herself and in three or four weeks she 
will lay again. 

One of the best places in which to let the hen turkey 
run with poults is a field where the grass is short. As a 
rule, a pasture is very good; woodland is also suitable. 
Keep them out of long grass and grain fields when there 
is a heavy dew or it is rainy, until after the grain and 
hay are harvested, because the wet vegetation is bad for 
the' young j)oults. It chills and sets them back in their 
gi'owth and often is fatal. You ^vill always find the 
largest and finest turkeys where they have free range. As 
a rule, turkeys will wander some distance from home 
during the day, but will come back to their home every 
night. Under proper management you can place turkeys 
anywhere .you wish on the farm, and by teaching them 
to roost in one particular i^lace, they will come to regard 
this as their home, and will know no other; you will al- 
ways find them wherever they have been taught to roost. 
This can be done by watching them a few nights in suc- 
cession and driving them to the iJlace where you wish 



shell, it will be porous. I have known many germs to die 
on this account. 

DISEASES AND INJURED STOCK 

Under no consideration breed from a diseased tur- 
key. It is much safer to kill a sick turkey than to let her 
among your flock of healthy birds. 

When the males mate with the females and they are 
extra heavy and clumsy, it is well to see that the male 
does not tear the female or hurt her back. A verj' good 
way to prevent this is to file down the toe nails of the 
male. I have seen them manj' times slip off of the female 
and rip open the hips or side. It is vei-y easy to discover 
an injured female by her actions, more especiallj' the next 
day, as she will be lame and her wings will droop. It is 
best to catch her at once and examine the wound, as 
generally they can be saved by sewing up the tear. This 
is not a very difficult matter. Let one person hold the 
turkey and another do the sewing. Pull all the feathers 
from the edges of the wound, and with warm water 
moisten them so they will stay back while you are put- 
ting in the stitches. Before sewing, the wound should 
be washed thoroughly with castile soap, using a small, 
soft sponge; then take a long, fine needle and with white 




A Mixed Flock 



them to stay. Just before dark they will go up in the 
trees or on a roost that has been put up for them. With 
the I'ight kind of breeding stock turkeys at Thanksgiving 
time should weigh about as follows: Toms, sixteen to 
twenty pounds; hens, twelve to fourteen pounds. I have 
dressed at six months old, turkeys weighing twenty-four 
jiounds, but they are rare. 

PEEDINO THE BREEDING STOCK 
There are two things which have to be done in order 
to have success in breeding. One of them is to get the 
right kind of breeding stock, and the other is to feed 
them properlj'. These are the two main things. The 
proper waj^ to feed breeding stock is to be careful not to 
overfeed them. After your breeders are selected, feed 
almost entirely on oats (scalded). I find they do better 
on oats than on any other food. For a change, feed 
whole corn about twice per week, and at no time feed 
more than they will eat clean. Where turkeys have a 
barnyard to scratch in, you will have to be careful not to 
get them over-fat, and as a rule, it is only necessary to 
feed them at night. A good accompaniment to the food 
for turkeys is charcoal ground coarse. Put it in a box 
where they can find it. They also need shells — oyster 
'shells are the best. On a farm they can ordinarily find all 
the grit that is necessary for them to have. If the hen 
turkey has not enough lime to projierlj' supply the egg 



silk thread draw the edges of the skin around the 
wound so that the parts meet as they were. Commence 
at one end of the wound and gradually draw the edges of 
the skin together over the wound as you stitch, \intil the 
tear is all closed up. Many times I have taken as many 
as fifty stitches in one wound. Bathe the wound with 
witch hazel every day for four or five days. It is well> 
to keep the hen in a small i^en or coop for three or four 
days where there is quiet, and where you can catch her 
without running. If you gave her free range she might 
tear out the stitches. The period of confinement de- 
pends entirely on the size and nature of the wound, but 
as a rule, after three or four days she can be liberated 
with the rest of the flock. 

FOOD FOR YOUNG TURKEYS 
As a rule, many young turkeys are killed by over- 
feeding. On large farms where the hen turkey and her 
poults have plenty of range, it is best to feed them only 
twice each day, once in the morning and again at night. 
Young turkeys can live on insects and many little grasses 
which they relish. Y'ou will always find that food they 
get in the fields will keep them in better condition than 
anything you can give them. During the berry season, 
especially, when wild strawberries are ripe, it is a 
pleasure to watch the little turkeys pick and eat them. 
In seasons when there is a good supply of grass- 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND J^IANAGEMENT. 



35 



hoppers, the turkeys will live aliuost entirely on them. 

When young- turkeys have to be fed the best food 1 
know of is stale bread, but be sure the bread is not sour. 
Bj' stale bread I mean wheat bread three to ten days old. 
Moisten the bread with .sweet milk, but do not get it too 
moist. I usually press out all the milk that I can Vsdth 
my hands. Clabbered milk is also good for young- tur- 
keys. Put it in a dish on the ground where they can get 
at it easily. During- the warmest weather of summer it 
is best to keej) all turkeys, young- or old, on the hungry 
side, for if you do not. there is great danger of their hav- 
ing bowel trouble. 

1 have told vou how to care for turkeys on a large 
range. If you are on a limited range, or for any reason 
you have to keep your birds confined, I mean young- 
poults, take three boards twelve or fourteen inches ^vide 
and ten or twelve feet long and make a triangular pen. 
In this lieu put the old turkey and her ijoults. Do not 
confine the hen. She will jump out and in over the boards 
and will not leave her poults. It is best to leave the 
l)ovilts in this pen for fifteen to eighteen days, and then 
let them range with their mother.. Many persons think 
it is necessary to put the hen turkey in a coop to keep 
her near her young, but this is not the case, as the 
mother will stay with the poults; you could hardly drive 
her awaj-. When the j'oung poults are coniined in a 
pen as above described, it is necessary while so young to 
feed them fotir times a day with stale bread moistened 
with milk. If the weather is rainy and wet, it is some- 
times well to use red pepper enough to make the bread 
quite warm. If any of your poults are drooping it will 
tone them u]i. Clabbered milk is also good for them 
Shovild \"ou find that the young- turkeys are drooping and 
do not seem to piciv up, the very first thing to look for 
is lice. If your poults have lice or ticks they will not do 
well, and it is almost impossible to raise them. You wili 
find at times a lai-ge bhie tick on turkeys and turkey 
poults; they are on the neck and head only. If you 
should find anj' ticks on your poults, pick them off, then 
use clear lard on the head and neck. It will kill the nits 
that would hatch if you did not use some preventive. 
For the two 'other varieties of lice, use any good insect 
powder, biit alwa3S be careful that none gets in their 
eyes. Hen turkej's generally keep free from lice if they can 
find any place to dust themselves, but some are very lazy 
and if these hens have poults they will be sure to be in- 
fested with lice, too. In looking for lice it is best to 
examine the little wings, as generally you will find them 
at the base of quills, also around vent. For the terrible 
ticks, which are almost sure death, look upon the neck, 
push back the feathers carefully until you reach the top 
of the head. You can easily see them, as they are good 
sized, and the older ones are dark blue in color, usually 
full of blood. If you keep your poults free from lice you 
will have overcome almost all danger of loss. 

Stale bread moistened in milk should be fed to the 
poults for three or four weeks, then gradually get them 
to eat wheat and fine cracked corn. This grain should be 
scalded, as it will then assist digestion, but do not feed it 
until it has thoroughly cooled. Indigestion is very prev- 
alent among- turkej's, both young and full grown. 

If your poults should have diarrhoea from any cause, 
one feed of boiled rice will usually stop the trouble. 
Another common but sure relief is to give them red 
pejijier, say one tablespoonful. Mix it with about two 
tablespoonfuls of wheat middlings, then moisten it with 
water, but do not wet it enough to make it stick}-. Cut 
it up in about four to six parts and roll the parts into 
pill shape, put them in an oven and bake them hard. It 
is well tq have a few always on hand, as after baking 



they ■\\ill keep for a long time in a dry place. If I have 
a turkey, either old or young, with a bad case of diar- 
rhoea, I give one pill three times a day until the 
drop)iings are improved. Then give a tablespoonful of 
castor oil if the turkey is fvill grown, or a teaspoonful to 
a young poult. It is very seldom that I cannot stop a 
case of diarrhoea with this treatment. 

FALL PEEDIN(; 

I commence to feed all turkeys the first of October to 
get them ready for Thanksgiving, as we all know there 
is more demand for turkeys at that time than at any 
other. They should be fed morning and night, but never 
more than they will eat within a few minutes. Most of 
(he trouble we have in the fall is caused by overfeeding. 
At the time you commence to feed for fattening use com- 
mon sense and feed lightly for the first ten days, gradu- 
ally increasing the food. The principal food from Oc- 
tober to January first should be corn, not cracked, and 
the older the corn the better, as new corn will cause 
bowel trouble. I have seen large flocks of turkeys 
knocked out by feeding new corn. If yoji get their bowels 
out of order, it takes weeks to get them in good con- 
dition again. As a rule, most of your turkeys will be fat 
and in good condition to dress at Thanksgiving. There 
may be a few late hatched broods that will be improved if 
carried over to Christmas. 

Many ijeople advocate putting turkej's in a closed pen 
to fatten. I Ijave given this method a good trial many 
times and under all conditions and find it a failure. Let 
them have all the range they want. The results will be 
better and you will avoid the sickness they -will have if 
you confine them. Many persons do not understand why 
their turkeys are not so fat as they should be, but almost 
invariably you will find that they have fed them in con- 
finement and the turkeys could not stand it, especially for 
a period of several weeks. They get off their feed and 
will not eat. In the fall when the weather is cold, tur- 
keys will not range far from the farm bviildings. They 
will eat their morning- food, then roam around after a 
little grit to help them digest it and then lie down in a 
warm place out of the wind. Drive all the turkeys you 
wish to kill in a barn or shed so as to confine them 
twenty-four hours before killing- with no food of any 
kind. To look well when dressed, their crops must be en- 
tirely free from food. 

THE HE.ST ROOSTINd PLACE FOR TURKEYS 
Many persons who keep turkeys think they need 
shelter in the way of a building. That idea is entirely 
wrong. The best possible way of keeping turkeys in good 
health is to have them roost away from buildings, in 
trees if you have them. l>y roosting in trees they will 
not be in draughts, as they would be if allowed to roost 
in sheds or buildings. I have known turkeys to roost 
in trees with the thermometer fifteen to twenty degrees 
below zero, and be mxich healthier than turkeys that 
were inside a building. A turkey can stand auy weather 
we have in the Lnited States if they are roosting in trees 
that are partly sheltered from the wind. 1 have seen 
turkeys in trees during a snow and rain storm with the 
wind blowing sixty miles an hour, and they did not 
appear to mind it in the least. 

A great improvement has been made in the size of 
turkeys, especially Ttronze, in the past twenty years. The 
ordinary turkey of some years ago, as bred by the 
average farmer, would weigh abovit as follows: Toms, 
twenty pounds; hens, eight to ten pounds. Today 
Bronze turkeys will weigh: Toms, thirty-five to forty-two 
pounds; hens, eighteen to twenty-five pounds. This shows 
what proper mating will do. 



IN NATURE'S WAY 



Selecting Brccdets— Intiodticing Ktw Bleed— PaisiEg Brcedcit— Avoid Ciossirg, tut Jtdicicosly Inbreed— Poults in Nature's Way- 
Range— Food— Housing — Difficult Sections to Breed Correctly 



B. F. ULRET 




S I BREED only the Bronze variety of tur- 
keys, and a limited number of them for 
exhibition and breeding purposes, and as 
1 have had no experience with any other 
variety and never sell on the market, ex- 
cept the culls of my flock, I cannot g-ive 
you much information on raising turkeys for market. 
Hovcever, if I were to breed turkeys for market purposes, 
I should employ the same methods as I do in breeding 
exhibition fovrls, except that I should not discard a good 
bird if it were faulty in color. Most farmers, I notice, 
sell all of the early hatched turkeys on the market be- 
cause they vnll bring more money and they retain the 
late hatched and immature poults for breeding purposes. 

The consequence is, they do 
not raise many next season, 
because the breeding stock has 
no vigor and the poults no 
strength when hatched. 

I have bred Bronze turkeys 
for ten years and my method 
of raising them is entirely dif- 
ferent from that employed by 
anyone with whom I have 
talked, or from the methods of 
poultry writers which I find 
printed in the poultry journals 
from time to time. In the first 
place, I keep about fifteen fe- 
males in each flock, seven hens 
and eight pullets, headed by an 
adult tom, assisted by a cock- 
erel, and I always have fertile 
eggs. The Bronze turkey com- 
mences to lay when she is 
about ten months old and she 
will lay from twenty to twenty- 
five eggs before she offers to sit, then if con- 
fined for about a week or ten days she will commence 
to lay again and vrill lay from twelve to six- 
teen more eggs before she becomes broody. Most 
hens lay two clutches in a season, though I have known 
some hens to lay all summer, and I have one hen that 
laid ninety-seven eggs from April first to September 
tenth. In selecting my breeding stock I take females as 
near Standard weight and color as possible, having large 
frames and bones and such as are not too fat. These are 
mated with toms that are a little above Standard weight, 
the cockerel weighing from twenty-eight to thirty pounds 
at ten months old, the yearling cooks from thirty-five to 
thirty-seven pounds, the adult from thirty-eight to forty- 
two pounds. I am particular to have males of the best 
color and shape I can get. I find that the female gives us 
size, while the male governs the plumage. In changing 
males and breeding for exhibition purposes, I always try 
to get a tom that is extra fine in the sections in which 
my females are defective. The best way to introduce 
new blood is to purchase a female from some successful 
breeder and mate her with the tom that heads your own 
flock. Save her eggs and mark her poults, and if they 
prove good, you can use them successfully. On the other 




Two Winning Hens, The Property ol B. F. Ulrey 

Indiana Queen (at left) , score 97}^; Pride of Shawnee (at 
right), weight at ten months old. 23j4 pounds 



hand, if you buy a tom of another strain (the male counts 
more than half of the flock) to mate with your hens, and 
such mating results in poor birds, you have lost the sea- 
son. I often see advertisements in poultry journals in 
which breeders offer stock for sale produced from 
twenty-seven to thirty-one pound hens and forty to forty- 
seven-pound toms. Such claims are intended to catch 
amateurs, for any breeder of experience knows that a 
hen that weighs twenty-seven pounds never lays fertile 
eggs, and a tom that weighs forty-seven pounds never 
fertilizes an egg. 

HATCHING AND RAISING POULTS 
I allow the hens to have their own way about their 
nests, although I place barrels 
on their sides along hedges 
and in secluded places in the 
orchard and fence corners, in 
each putting a small quantity 
of straw. The hens generally 
nest in the barrels and I re- 
move the eggs every day until 
the hen is heady to sit. I then 
give her seventeen eggs and at 
the same time put ten eggs 
under a domestic hen to hatch. 
All the poults are given to the 
turkey hen to raise, as I find 
that a turkey knows more 
about taking care of poults 
than I do. I give her a good 
feed of corn and a drink of 
water and then let her go 
where she likes. If there is a 
meadow or pasture within 
three-quarters of a mile, that is 
where she will go. I have 
one hen that hatched sixteen poults and I gave her nine 
more hatched by a domestic hen and she raised twenty- 
two of them. I have never seen a fence that vsdll confine 
turkeys unless one wing is clipped, then a four-foot net- 
ting with a barbed wire above will keep them confined, 
but I do not wish to confine my turkeys except occa- 
sionally for a short time. Once in a while I have a hen 
that wanders too far from home to build her nest. I 
have an orchard covering about two acres which is in- 
closed with netting and barbed wire and in which I keep 
my Silver Laced Wyandottes during the breeding season. 
I bring the wandering turkey home, clip her wing and put 
her in the pen described until she lays out her clutch. If 
a hen and her brood get to running away and going to a 
neighbors', I put them in the chicken yard for about ten 
days, after which I have no further trouble with them. I 
look after the hens with poults on bad days when I can- 
not work in the fields. If I find any weak poults I 
examine them for lice, and if I find any lice I give the 
poults a good dusting with insect powder. If the weather 
is dry, the poults find enough dust in which to wallow to 
keep down the lice, but if it is wet weather you must look 
out for lice. I am satisfied that nine-tenths of the poults 
that die are fed to death or are killed by lice. 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



37 



RANGE-FOOD— HOUSING 

I give my turkeys unlimited range and feed nothing- 
until July 15th, then I drive them home every night and 
give them a little corn. In about a week they will come 
home at night for food and to roost and I have no further 
trouble with them until I am ready to sell or show. Some 
writers claim that wet weather and heavy dews are fatal 
to poults. If such were the case I should not have a 
poult today, as the past season was the wettest we have 
had in several years. Still I have more poults now than I 
ever raised before in one season. I have never had but 
two sick turkeys during the years I have been in the busi- 
ness. One of these was crop-bound. I poured about a 
pint of warm milk down her throat and kneaded her crop 
with my fingers for about ten minutes, then gave her a 
tablespoonful of castor oil and she was all right the next 
day. The other was a three-year- old tom which dropped 



not eat a half bushel of corn a day during the week I 
fed them. 

Never discard a good bird because it is getting old. I 
have known hens to be first-class breeders when seven 
years old. The best tom I ever owned, both as a breeder 
and an exhibition bird, I sold when he was three years 
old because I thought he was getting too old for a 
breeder. The person to whom I sold him used him two 
seasons and he proved a successful breeder. Then this 
man sold him, thinking he was too old for breeding or 
showing, but his new master thought differently and 
showed him at Madison Square Garden, New York, that 
winter when he was five years old, and won the blue 
ribbon. Old "Champion" has a record of eighteen first 
prizes. He weighed thirty-five pounds as a yearling, 
forty pounds as a two-year-old and forty-three pounds 
when four years old. He was the sire of the first prize 




Champion Jr. One of B. F. Ulrey's Chicago Cap Winners. Score 97 Points, by B. N. Pierce 



oil the roost dead. I commence feeding my turkeys all 
they will eat about November first and continue feeding 
until about February first, then I let them hustle for 
their living and they will be in good breeding condition. 

I never house turkeys, as the trees and fences are the 
natural roosting places for turkeys and I think that the 
nearer they are raised as nature does the better the re- 
sults. Turkeys cannot be raised successfully without 
plenty of range, as they must have exercise and a variety 
of food, which they cannot obtain except on an extensive 
range. If you will examine the crop of a poult after 
September first that has had plenty of range, you will 
find grasshoppers, bugs and worms, together with several 
varieties of weed and grass seeds, but very little grain. 
Some persons claim that a turkey will eat more than a 
hog. I had a chance to test the matter last winter when 
I had sixty-five turkeys on hand and there came a severe 
snow storm which prevented the flock from getting any- 
thing to eat except what I fed them. The sixty-five did 



cock and second prize hen at Chicago, January, 1900, and 
to my knowledge, was the sire of eleven turkeys that 
scored 97 points or better. 

STARTING THE BUSINESS 

If I were to start in the business of raising turkeys, 
having the experience I now have, I should purchase three 
or four of the best females I could find that were near 
Standard weight and as nearly perfect in color as I could 
find. I should also buy their sire if he had proved to be 
a good one and should mate them to him. If I could not 
get the sire, I should get a cockerel from the same mating 
that the females were from and should mate him to the 
females. Then I should save the eggs from the best 
hen, mark her poults and save a tom from her to mate 
with my flock the next season. The pullets X should take 
to another farm and mate to a tom from the home flock. 
In that way I could line-breed and not in-breed too 
closely. When I saw there was need of new blood, I 



38 



'lUJRKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



should purchase a female fi'om the breeder of whom 1 
purchased iny original stock, aud in that ■way I would 
keep the same strain, but my birds would not be near 
enough related to affect their health and vigor. As surely 
as you introduce a new strain in your flock, you will lose 
both shape and color and it will take at least three years 
of careful mating to get back where you were when you 
made the cross. 

I find that the breast and back are the most difficult 
sections to breed correctly in regard to shape. As a rule, 
the back is too narrow and too short. We want our birds 
broad across the shoulders with a long back and full 
round breast, rather long legs and large feet. In color 
we have the most difficulty with the wdngs, tail and back. 
The Standard says in regard to color of wings: "Primaries 
— Each feather evenly and distinctly barred across, \vith 



parallel bars of black aud white extending the entire 
length of the feather." Of the color of the tail it says: 
"Dull black — each feather evenly and distinctly marked 
transversely with jiarallel lines of brown, each feather 
having a vsTide black band extending across it near the 
end (the more bronze on this band the better) and tei'- 
minating in a wdde edging of white." Xow I find if we 
get a clear white barring in the wings we are sure to 
get white barring in the main tail feathers, which is a 
serious defect. In fact, I should not keep a bird for a 
breeder that had white barring in its tail. I also find 
that if we get a clear white edging on the tail and tail 
coverts we do not get a rich bronze on the back and 
tall coverts, and if we get a good bronze where the 
Standard demands it, we are sure to g-et smutty white 
on the end of the tail and smoky white on tail coverts. 



TURKEYS RAISED WITHOUT HOUSING 

Confiniag and Housing Turkeys— Turkey Eggs — Care of Poults — Feeding Corn — Diseases — How to Begin 

B. F. HISLOP 




FEW years ago when we finally concluded to 
try turkey raising', we had alreadj' decided 
that the Bronze was the variety which 
suited us best, and we bought a trio in the 
fall in order to be ready for business the 
' following spring. We had uO experience, so 
we began to read uj) on the subject and to 
question our neighbors about their methods 
of caring' for the young. We found that most of the 
neighbors allowed the turkey hens to do all the work, 
and when winter came, if there was a large lloek of 
turkeys the farmer's wife claimed all the credit, but if 
the turlcey hens failed to raise large families, they had 
all the blame. At first we raised the poults \\ith domestic 
hens and later decided to try the turkeys, but found the 
old ones so unruly that we again gave the poults to the 
domestic hens. We worked according to rules, kept the 
coops well scrubbed, etc., and we succeeded fairly well, 
raising as large a percentage of poults as we have ever 
raised since, but the work we did that year, if applied to 
some other calling, would have obtained us far more 
money, and we concluded if raising turkeys required so 
much work we had better quit the business. The time we 
wasted doctoring colds that season would have discour- 
aged most amateurs. We were afraid these colds might 
develop into roup, and so labored most patiently. We 
wish to say that we do not believe turkeys ever have roup 
as chickens do. We think the birds become debilitated 
from injudicious treatment from the time they are 
hatched, and when autumn comes the birds take cold, 
which develoiDS into chronic catarrh. We do not believe 
it is contagious, but a flock will be more or less affected, 
as all the birds are exposed to the same causes. It is 
hard to cure such colds, for if a man does not know how 
to prevent his flock from taking cold he is hardly likely 
to know how to cure them. There may be flocks that 
have the roup, but we have never seen any, though we 
have seen birds whose owners thought they had roup, 
btit which we believed to be suffering from a severe cold. 
This year not one of our turkeys has a cold, although 
this is the season for it, and we think we understand why 
they have escaped. In the first place, we changed the 
blood, as we believe inbreeding produces weak stock, 
although one does not need to make too great a change. 



We do not think the turkeys are as liable to be off in 
color as chickens are, and so we have no hesitancy in 
putting- a fine torn at the head of our flock without 
tracing his pedigree. A torn will do a large part in 
elevating a flock, but he cannot do it all, becau.se much 
depends on the femalts. The male, so our experience 
teaches us, has much to do with the size, with the length 
of the bones, markings of the tail and wings, and also 
the shape of the body, but if the females are too small 
and poorly marked, one cannot expect anj'thing tirst-class 
from such a mating. A lai'ge percentage of judges are 
\cry particular about the markings of the tails and \vings 
of turkeys, so one has to look after these sections. Some 
judges are very particiilar about having a good bronze, 
although shape, size, etc., will help one out, but the best 
judges want a bronze, not a black or brown. Many 
breeders cannot see bronze in any bvit their own birds, 
but when the birds are all together in a show room, a 
person, if he has an eye for beauty, can select the bronze 
birds, and so can the judge — which is one good point for 
comparison judging. 

CONFINIXC AND IIOU.SING TURKEYS 
We do not think tni'keys can be raised in large flocks 
without a large range, although we have never tried 
raising them in confinement. \ turkey is naturally a 
forager and in roaming about procures its proper food. 
Even if a person has solved the food problem (we do not 
think we have) and confines his turkeys, intending to feed 
them, he would prevent them from taking the proper 
exercise which they require as much as they do food, if 
they are to attain the g'reatest jjossible size and vigor. 
We find that the lack of size and vigor is to be seen in 
poults raised by domestic hens. We have been asked if 
it is best to house turkeys. We have never housed them 
ourselves. They have always roosted at night in the 
trees and lived around the buildings during the day, but 
^ve intend to try housing them sometime because from 
what we liave learned we think it would be a good plan. 
We shall use sheds open to the south, with trees for pro- 
tection on the open side. We have a grove that is a great 
protection to our flock, but we think they need more. 
When a bird stands around on a cold, bleak day, all S. 
drawn up and then goes to sleep on a naked limb, with 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



39 



the wind blowing- a blizzard around liim all nig-lit, we 
cannot see that it is of any benefit to him. He has the 
same sort of body that other stock has and if he has no 
shelter to keep him warm, his food has to do it. Plenty 
of fresh air does not mean that birds must be out of 
shelter. We do not think that over seventy-five turkeys 
in one ttock will do well and we prefer fifty or less. It 
does not matter how early turkeys are hatched. The 
hens in this climate will not commence to lay much be- 
fore the first of April, and the later hatched will lay 
about as soon as the early ones, unless very late 
hatched. 

IN REGARD TO TURKEYS 
We do not keep the young- birds for breeders becauso 
they are not matured enoug-h. Breeders should be at 
least ten or eleven months old, the older and more 
mature the fowl is, the better the breeder. We may not 
g-et BO many eg-gs from the females, but we get better 
ones. The one draw-back to t%vo-year-old turkeys and older 
is that we let them get too fat in this corn country dur- 
ing the winter. We have never been able to secure such 
large clutches of eggs as some 
claim. We get an average of 
twelve in the first chitch and 
about ten in the second. Som° 
hens will la}' more, and some will 
lay three clutches, but they are 
]ess in number and we never count 
much on them, for the hens usu- 
ally hide their nests and we sel- 
dom bother about them. Occa- 
sionally a hen will lay a large 
number of eggs, in fact, will lay 
all summer, but such eggs are sel- 
dom fertile. We have mated 
fifteen females with one torn 
with good results, and we do not 
believe there was any larger per- 
centage of infertile eggs than 
when we mated a tom with two 
females. Turkey eggs are usually 
fertile if the hens are not too fat 
We put our hens on "starvation 
rations," as we call it, -w-hen 
neai-ing the breeding season. At that time we feed 
mostly oats, meat and vegetables. Turkey eggs incubate 
in twenty-eight days, and when the weather is very warm 
a day or so less time is required, but we do not remember 
ever having one sit over twenty-eight days. Turkey hens 
seldom hide their nests for the first clutch. In the second 
they make the attempt, but w-e watch them and if they 
want to go too far away we drive them nearer home and 
thus get them to commence laying in a nest more con- 
venient to us. We gather the eggs and keep them in a 
cool place, placing them .on the small end, and if we 
shoxild keep them long, we turn them, but as a rule, we 
do not keep them long enough to take that trouble, for 
if we do not set them ourselves, our customers are wait- 
ing for them. Wc have generally had better success in 
putting- eggs under domestic hens, but we do not let 
them raise the poults. We always have a turkey hen 
waiting to take them. If a turkey hen has been sitting 
two weeks, or even less, she will take the young if they 
are put under her when a few hours old. We have tried 
putting pipped eggs under the turkey, but too many of 
them get mashed, so this year we waited until the poults 
were a few hours old. If a turkey chooses to sit in the 
proper place, we put eggs under her and set a domestic 
hen at the same time, but give all the poults to the 
turkey. 




First Prize Younii Tom 



Chicago and Indiana Stat 
by F. B 



CARE OF POULTS 
We used to keep the poults and the mother hen 
penned up for about ten days or two weeks, feeding the 
young turkej s three or four times a day on boiled eggs, 
dandelions, curd and bread soaked with milk. They did 
very well, but we think now it was a mistaken kindness, 
for we lost a larger per cent of the young in the fall. We 
think that with all our care we invariably overfed, but 
the}- did not show the effects until fall. Now we make 
a practice of keeping the hen and poults penned up four 
or five days, feeding very sparingly on boiled eggs, dan- 
delions or any green plant, s-ach as onions or lettuce, and 
a little bread. We have discarded curds altogether as 
we think it is too much work for the benefit, in fact, we 
have almost concluded that it is a detriment to the tur- 
keys, for when we fed it we were bothered by the fowls 
having worms more than we are now. This season we 
went to very little trouble to feed them after the hen was 
set at liberty. If it were convenient we fed them twice or 
three times a day, but if not, we looked after them at 
evening to see where they roosted, and fed them, giving 
then some kind of cooked food, 
oatmeal, and bran, and later a 
mash composed of equal parts of 
corn meal, middlings and bran, 
with a little meat meal, bone and 
Venetian red. The food we gave 
them was so little that we did not 
consider it necessary, and as they 
grew older they did not have use 
for it, but we still fed them in 
order to keep them tame and 
teach them that they had a home. 
■Nevertheless, we frequently had 
to drive them home. A turkey 
on a farm range will take care 
of her flock and raise them strong 
and vigorous with very little food 
from the house. 

There is much ado about young 
poults being killed by damp 
weather and by being out in the 
dew. By the time a turkey hatches 
in this climate it is not likely to be 
very cold, and unless the ground is so low that the land is 
flooded, there is little danger from rains. This has been 
a very wet summer in our locality, and we had hens out 
in heavy rains when the poults were but a few days old 
and we did not lose a poult nor did the young get wet. 
We have a iai'ge orchard and grove that furnishes a great 
deal of protection, but often the hen sat out as far from 
the trees as she could get, not to entirely leave the 
orchard, still there were no poults drowned. We think 
during stich wet spells that the poults need*to be fed 
more regularly, as they cannot hunt for their food. We 
have lost more young by having the old hen go into a 
coop with a part of the flock, the other part being left 
out and drowning, than we ever did when the hen was 
out with the flock. After the frosts kill the bugs, grass- 
hoppers, etc., the turkeys require more food, and we feed 
them morning- and night a small ration, increasing it as 
the food in the meadows and pastures decreases. In the 
morning we feed a mash with the same ingredients that 
we fed to the poults while young, -with the addition of 
charcoal and oil meal in small quantities. We also give 
them cracked bone and grit, all they -will eat of the 
latter, and at night coarse cracked corn and soaked oats. 
Now if the young poults are not fed to death, so to speak, 
there will be little, if any, indigestion, and if a case now 
and then appears lessen the food, and in individual cases 



e Fair. Bred and Owned 
Hislop 



40 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



give the fowl a full tablespoonful of castor oil with from 
five to ten drops of turpentine in it. If one dose is not 
enough, give two or three, or even more, one dose a day, 
and search for lice. We have invariably noticed that the 
debilitated fowl always becomes lousy and generally has 
worms, as these pests invariably follow indigestion. 

FEEDING CORN 
Dp not begin too soon to feed corn. Last year we 
fed our chickens considerable cracked corn in the outside 
scratching pens. Our turkeys soon learned this and were 
on hand by three or four o'clock, if they had not hung 
around all day waiting for evening, and they got a large 
share of the corn. As a consequence, we lost a lot of fine 
birds from indigestion. We could not cure it, as we did 
not remove the cause. We wanted fat chickens and we 
paid for them with our best turkeys, but we learned our 
lesson. Keep your turkeys going out on the range as 
long as possible. Drive them away in the morning if they 
will not go. When the weather becomes cold and the 
proper time for fattening comes, then feed corn and 
heavy grain. We would never fatten the birds intended 
for breeders if the purchasers did not demand heavy 
weights, as fat is a detriment to the birds. We cannot 
blame the purchasers, as this is about the only way they 
can.be sure of getting a large fowl and so they call for 
actual weights; but the tall, rangy, well-shaped, long, 
coarse-legged turkey, even if he does look slim in the 
fall, is the one that will be a large bird. Our first turkeys 
purchased were low, blocky birds, and they were almost 
as heavy in the late fall as they ever got. We thought 
them fine at first, but it did not take us long to change 
our minds, so that Ihe nest autumn we purchased a trio 
of birds from a well-known breeder. When they came 
the fowls were but a pound or two heavier than our old 
stock, but they were long legged, awkward, green looking 
birds, and we were pleased with them, for we could see 
into what they would develop and we were not dis- 
.ippointed. Since then we have known better what to 
purchase. Turkey raising is like a great many other 
things. One can read a great deal about it, but the 
actual experience is necessary. More than that, it can 
never all be learned, nor does one person possess more 
knowledge than all other turkey raisers combined. The 
longer one is in the business the less conceited he be- 
comes if he has any success. 

MARKETING TURKEYS 
In catching poults or old turkeys, one must catch 
ttem by the legs, holding them just below the hocks with 
the legs together, laying the birds across the arm if you 
wish to carrj' them, or on something else if you do not. 
The cost of feeding a turkey on a farm does not amount 
to more than 50 cents per head, even with all the extras 
a breeder needs, and the farmer's wife who lets the 
turkey do the raising is out so little one cannot estimate 
it. We purchase food for all our ijoultrj' together, using 
as we need it, and consequently when the time to bal- 
ance comes we simply count up our expenses and income 
from all our flocks and look for the gain or income. 
When turkej's are raised for market, the heavy ones vrill 
pay the most profit fattened and sold for Thanksgiving 
and Christmas, but the younger and lighter weights that 
are not in as good condition as they Avill be later, can 
be marketed any time during the vrinter, as the turkey 
market does not fluctuate so very much for good stock. 
We have had dressers of poultry tell us that the Bronze 
turkeys were the finest they handled, but we do not be- 
lieve they command a higher price than other varieties, 
all conditions being equal. Good dressed turkeys bring 
from eleven to twelve and one-half cents a pound in Chi- 



cago. Every breeder should dress his own fowls, as it 
will pay him in all instances. Have the fowls fat and do 
the work nicely and you are sure of the top price. 

LICE ON TUUKEV.S 
We have not touched the lice question in regard to 
young poults. We are not much in favor of greasing, 
except in using a little lard on the old hen when first 
taken from the nest and on the tops of the poults' heads 
as a preventive of head lice. We dust the old hen two or 
three times while she is sitting, and thoroughly when we 
givt her the poults, then watch the young and as soon 
as we see lice on them, dust them %vith good insect pow- 
der, avoiding the white, as it makes them look shabby. 
We do considerable dusting, once a week for a few 
months, but oftcner if the lice compel us to. Dust the 
old hen, too, lor when the lice are destroyed in this way 
at the beginning your trouble is over. We catch the 
young by having a box trap. Peed them in a bunch and 
when they commence to eat set the trap over them, the 
top of the box being laths witn a little trap door in it so 
we can take the poults out one by one, dust them and let 
them go. In this way none are missed. It is not so easy 
to catch the old bird. Occasionally she escapes a dusting, 
but we manage to get her often enough to prevent 
trouble. We seldom have a sick poult, so we never ex- 
perienced pulling wing feathers. Our trouble heretofore 
has been, as we said, in the fall, and we think we can 
steer clear of that better than we have. 

DISEASES OF TURKEYS AND RANGE 
In our experience the diseases of turkeys are brought 
about by impaired digestion. If one can build up the con- 
stitution and remove the causes of the trouble one can 
cure many of them, but when the constitution has become 
thoroughly broken down you might as well use the ax and 
stop the misery. Do not be too hasty, however, as many 
of them may be cured and marketed. Colds are not 
necessarily fatal, nor is rheumatism, although the latter 
is worse, but when a turkey gets the black head he is 
often dead before one gets a chance to doctor him, so the 
best way is to begin right and avoid such trouble. A 
large flock is more difficult to handle than a small one. 
We do not aim to raise over seventy-five in our home 
flock, as the range is not good on the prairies and the 
pastures are too small. We all know that a large cattle 
pasture is an ideal lange, but they are not to be found in 
a locality like ours, where land is high and it is all under 
cultivation, besides one's neighbors do not like to see 
another man's turkeys in their oat fields or corn fields in 
the fall, although it is a well established fact that tur- 
keys eat more injurious insects than they do grain and 
they are a benefit rather than a detriment, but you can 
not make many farmers believe it, and it is useless to 
try. We are trying to console our neighbors by compen- 
sating them in some way for the imagined damage, 
but mth all that the yellow cur puts in his appearance 
occasionally and chews up a fine bird. It is not all clear 
sailing in the turkey business, and as we are located, if 
it were not for the pleasure we take in seeing a fine flock 
of the mammoth beauties, we should quit the business. 

We do not think swampy ground would be a good 
pi. ice for turkeys, especially during a wet season. 

There has been a great deal said in regard to the size 
of the Bronze. Many think the present Standard weights 
are high enough and we have heard of judges cutting 
birds (toms) for being too heavy, same as too light. Now 
this surely is carrying matters too far, as size is one of 
the main features in a turkey (or any domestic bird that 
is cut when under Standard weight for that matter) as 
long as we retain shape and plumage. We have never 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



41 



struck such a judge in our exhibiting', and when we do, 
there will surely be a noise. Hen turkeys may be too 
large and masculine to be good breeders, but even they 
can be from two to four pounds over Standard weight 
when in good flesh and yet be very desirable breeders. 
As for an adult cock, we don't think 40 pounds would be 
too heavy for Standard weight, and birds that reach 45 
or 46 pounds are just as good breeders as those of Stand- 
ard weight. 

One cannot expect to retain size in his flock if he does 
not stick to large males for breeders. An occasional use 
of a small cock with large females may be necessary to 
secure some desirable feature that the breeder is more 
in need of than size, but the latter has bothered us more 
than any other point, as our customers are always look- 
ing for the big birds, even at a sacrifice of other quali- 
ties; especially is this true of the market breeders. We 
fanciers are always looking for the birds that win the 
blue ribbons at our shows, but nevertheless we cannot 
afford to let the market qualities go unnoticed, as all oui 
birds after all are bred for the common market in the 
«nd. One thing the prospective purchasers, old breeders 
as well as amateurs must learn, is that weight does not 
always mean size. For instance, two turkey cockerels may 
each weight 25 honest pounds, but one may be a large 
bird and the other small. The birds may both be scored 
and taken on an average. There is very little difference 
as far as the score card speaks, but compare the two. 
One v.if-y be worth twice what the other is to a breeder 
that wants size as well as other points. 

A score card show vyill not do justice to Bronze 
Turkeys, and the breeders of our most popular birds, the 
large, fine ones that are in demand all over America, 
know this; if tliej' don't, they \^^ll soon learn it. 

The kind of turkey judges we want are those that 
■consult the Standard for plumage, shape and size, but for 



the latter we want a man that cau see size without put- 
ting the bird on a scale and weighing it, as the scale has 
to consider the fat along with the bone and muscle. Nor 
does it tell you bow much of each there is in the bird 
considered. The Standard has no other way of fixing the 
size, save by weights. The rest is in the hands of the 
judge, and he is supposed to know the meaning of size. 

FOR THE AMATEUR 
Were we to start in the turkey business, kno\ving 
what we do now, we should buy the best breeders we 
could find that were for sale at a price we could stand 
and would not be afraid of a few dollars if we could 
afford it. V\'e should build a shed for them, and if we 
did not have some kind of a grove we think we could ill 
afEord not to build. We should start with the Bronze, for 
considering all we know of other breeds, we still like 
them best, and think that we can make the most money 
out of them. The market man prefers them for their size 
and the fancier for their beauty. Judging from the num- 
bers shown "in our exhibitions, they are the most popular 
variety. 

A word to purchasers — when jou wish to buy, first 
select a reliable breeder and if you want breeding birds 
you can easily purchase them at a reasonable figure, but 
if you want show birds for breeders (which are the best) 
do not expect them at common breeding stock prices, 
for no man's whole tlock is composed of show birds, even 
if many of his old breeding stock were once show birds. 
If the breeder tells you that his birds were never beaten 
in the show, immediately learn where the birds were ex- 
hibited, whether in a local show or in a show like Chi- 
cago, New York or Boston. No person has made a clean 
sweep at many large shows unless the competition was 
very small indeed. 




A Part of the Ran^e over ^vhioh Mr. B. F. Hislop's Turkeys roam 



MATING STANDARD-BRED BRONZE TURKEYS 

Desirable Qualities in the Males and Females— Number of Females in Pen— Evil Effects of In-Breediog 

J. T. THOMPSON 



S THERE any kind of live stock on the farm tliat is 
more beautiful to look on, or more profitable to 
raise, than Mammoth Bronze turkeys as they are 
bred today? I believe that you will answer in the 
negative, for they bring- more per pound 
than other live stock and their flesh costs no 
more; in fact, I do not believe it costs as much to raise 
them. Thej are great rangers and they obtain most of 
their living from foods that you would not otherwise 
realize on. Males weighing from forty to fifty pounds 
each, females of twenty pounds or more, that are beauti- 
fully and delicately marked, and with that rich bronze 
color and proud carriage, 
are certainly admired by 
everyone. 

History tells us that 
in the winter of 1620 — 
about a year after Genei-al 
Bradford and the pilgrims 
landed on our eastern 
coast, and after having en- 
dured hardships that only 
the strong'est and bravest 
could survive, they set 
aside a day to offer thanks 
to Him for bringing them 
through such discouraging 
time s — o n their first 
Thanksgiving, the pilgrims 
ate wild turkey, in prefer- 
ence to the meat of the 
elk, the deer, the bear or 
any of the other wild ani- 
mals that were plentiful. 
While that is nearly three 
centuries ago, I am glad 
to know that from that 
time to the present the 
flesh of the turkey has 
been more honored than 
any other fowl that we 
raise. 

The North American 
forests being' their native 
home, they were, neverthe- 
less, raised in many parts 
of Europe within three 
years after they were discovered here. This jiroves that 
the peojile of the old world like those of America, were 
not long in discovering the fine flavor of this rojal fowl. 

BREED FOR EXHIBITION QUALITIE.S AND SIZP: 
When we began raising Mammoth Bronze turkeys 
years ago, our object was to breed them for exhibition 
qualities as well as for great size. We believed that in 
order to make the greatest success of the turkey busi- 
ness, and to realize the most money from it that we must 
combine the exhibition and utility qualities. For the 
past seven years, our toms have weighed as yeai'ling 
birds from forty to forty-five pounds, and our hens of 
similar age, twenty pounds or more. The high honors 




Exhibition Mammoth 

Bred and owned by 



that we have won at the leading poultry shows, certainly 
proves that o\ir efforts have not been in vain. 

MATIN(i TURKEYS 
In mating tui-keys select those that have large, broad 
heads, long necks and bodies, big feet, and as well 
heads, long necks and bodies, big feet, and are as well 
as well marked as yt)u can get them, at the same time, 
never discount a poorly marked hen if she is of good size 
and shape, for if the torn is well marked, he will, to a 
gi'eat degree, overcome this defect. The same is true 
with a poorly marked torn mated with well marked hens. 

Never breed from a 
short txirkey, for while 
they fatten more quickly 
and look larger than the 
rangy one of the .same 
age, it is the latter when 
fully matured that makes 
the big ones — the kind 
that we all want. 

If your tiirkeys are 
large, but not as well 
marked as they should be, 
or perhaps they are a 
little ofE in color, and you 
have a strong colored 
torn that is somewhat 
small in size, it is all right 
to use him once to breed 
o\it siicli defects. How- 
ever, you cannot afford to 
continue to breed from 
small males, for the size 
of your stock will cer- 
tainly decrease. As the 
Ijreeder who raises for 
market purposes demands 
size, and since the Stand- 
ard cuts more on size 
than anything else, it is 
evident that it is the main 
consideration. 

NUMBER OF FEMALES 
IN PEN 
Never mate more than 
twelve hens ■with one tom. 
In my ojiinion eight is the right number for the average 
male. I have known of cases where good results were 
obtained by mating twenty and twentj-five hens with one 
tom, but such cases are exceptions and not the rule. 
Never let two males rxin in the same yard. If you have 
too many hens for one tom, and do not wish to mate two 
yards, you can arrange it by having one of the males in 
the yard and keeping the other i^enned up for three or 
four days. The birds should then be changed, and the 
one that was in the yard should be confined and the other 
placed in the pen. 

Never breed from the same tom more than two years. 
It is better to change every vear, for there is nothing' 



Bronze Turkey Tom 

J. T. Thompson 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



43 



that will decrease the vitalitj- of your stock 
moi-e rapidly than close inbreeding. In buy- 
ing- a trio or pen of turkeys, demand that the 
male is not related to the females. We have 
two flocks, each on a separate farm, and in 
filling the orders of our customes we always 
select the torn froni one flock and the hens 
from the other. We thereby start our cus- 
tomers on the right road to success by fur- 
nishing them with good, vigorous stock that 
is not related. 

Many breeders, in selling off their stock 
in the fall, dispose of their largest turkeys — 
because they bring more money and keej) the 
late hatched specimens to breed from, think- 
ing that by spring they will be sufficiently old 
and large enough for breeders. This is a mis- 
take. You cannot i-aise large, vigorous tur- 
keys from small, late hatched birds. By all 
means keep your earliest hatched turkeys for 
the next year's breeders. 

Some breeders advocate mating an old torn 
with pullets, but I prefer mating the pullets 
with a good, young torn, as an old male is s\ire 
to injure and probably kill some of them. 

If you have only a few turkeys by no means yard 
them, for they will do nnich better when they are given 
the entire range of the farin. During the laj'ing season 




One of J. T. Thompson's Turkey Toms with Tail and Wings Spread 
to Show their Markings 

it is sometimes difficult to find their nests when they 
have so mxich range, b\it if you will pen your hens until 
the afternoon, they will go straight to their nests. 



THE FARMER'S BEST FRIEND 

The Mammoth Bronze Turkey So Proclaimed by One Who Formerly Would Not Allow a Turkey on His Farm— Turkeys as Pest 

Destroyers — Selection of Breeders — Hatching and Raising Poults 

MRS. J. M. RANDOLPH 




*>*SS-3^ 



CON'SIDER the most important thing in turkey 
raising is good, healthy breeding stock. In 
" selecting a tom I look for good markings on 
wings and tail, a long body, large legs and feet 
and as the Standard i-equires heavy weig-ht. 
/ as large a bird as I can get that meets these 

^ requirements, although in my own judgment 

a thirty-two pound tom is large enough. I think most old 
turkey breeders will agree with nte that there was a 
great mistake made in demanding' such heavy weight 
toms. As I believe the poults get size from the hens and 
markings from the tom, I select the h^ns with regard to 
size first, but wivn markings as good as I can get on large 
hens. 

About the middle of February or when the hens begin 
to call — a sound familiar to all turkey breeders — and 
show signs of mating, I remove them to a young orchard 
enclosed with poultry netting, and clip the right wing of 
each hen, but I never clip the tom's wing, as he will not 
give trouble by trying to fly out as a hen vnW do if her 
wing is not clipped. 

In this yard they have plenty of range, blue grass and 
clover and I never let them out until the breeding- season 
is over. I believe every breeder should have an enclosed 
yard or park for turkeys. Much as I should dislike to 
give up raising turkeys, I would do so before I would go 
back to the old way of letting them have the run of the 
farm. .1 cannot forget long, wearj', ofttimes fruitless 
searches I have had trying to find their nests, only, per- 
haps, to have them move again in a few days. 



We have a great many osage orange hedges in this 
part of the country and these hedges seem to be a fav- 
orite place for turkeys to hide their nests. I have had 
them follow the hedge more than a mile and then make 
their nests. Being in an enclosure not only ensures your 
getting all their eggs, but they can be gathered often 
and thus avoid having them chill during the early spring 
months. 

TURKEY NESTS 
Turkeys in this locality usually begin to lay the latter 
part of March. After confining them to the park I take 
some evergreen boughs and lean them against the poul- 
try netting which adjoins a hedge fence on one side of 
the park, thus making a secluded jilace for them to nest. 
I do not leave a very large oi^ening, but let them creep 
in, and they think they are hiding their nests. Usually I 
keep about twenty-two hens and most of them will lay 
their first clutch of eggs in two of these nests, but later 
on when the grass grows knee high they will steal their 
nests and sometimes elude me for several days or a 
week; but by that time it is warm enough so that the 
eg-gs will not chill. 

MATCHlNt; THE POULTS 
Although turkey hens seem to be expressly designed 
to take care of their offspring and know how to do this 
part of their work to perfection, I have not found them 
to be as good sitters as domestic hens. For several years 
I have not waited until I had a turkey want to sit, b\it as 
soon as I have enough eggs for several sittings I place 



44 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



them under domestic hens. About two weeks before they 
are due to hatch I put some hen eggs under a broody 
turkey hen and when the turkey eggs begin to hatch I 
placed one or two eggs under the turkey and she would 
■own them without any trouble. 

Last spring I kept breaking my turkey hens from 
sitting in order to keep them laying and so at one time 
some turkeys were to hatch in a few days and there ^vas 
no turkey mother for them. About that time I had an- 
other turkey want to sit, so I gave her, without moving 
her from the nest, two or three small Barred Eock 
-chickens to see if she would own them, placing them 
under her just at dusk. Next morning she was hovering 
them and was very proud of her suddenly acquired family, 
so the next night I moved her to a building and gave her 
■eighteen little turkeys, of which she seemed just as proud 
as if she had sat four weeks. This was a new idea to 
me, but I thought why not use that plan altogether and 
thus keep the turkey hens laying. I did so the balance 
of the season with eight or 
nine turkeys, giving them 
broods when they had sat 
only a few days and in some 
instances only over night. 
Just one hen out of this 
-number refused to own and 
care for her brood, the oth- 
■ers acted as if they had sat 
the allotted time. I shall try 
it again this season and I 
feel confident that it will 
work all right. 

The best success I ever 
had in raising poults was in 
a small lot with very short 
grass and a very large coop 
or small building in which 
they could roost. They were 
kept shut in on rainy days 
and in the mornings until the 
dew dried off, until they were 
four to five weeks old. Then 
they were turned out to 
range, being driven back to 
their coops at night. For the 
first few weeks I find clabber 

cheese and green onion tops, pinhead oatmeal and millet 
seed to be good food for them. A little bone meal and 
small sharp grit also is put in their food once a day. I 
find sand and old plaster is good for them and a load of 
sand is hauled and placed where they can run to it. No 
one has any idea what a lot of sand young poults will eat 
until he undertakes to carry it to them as I did one 
spring. 

At this season we always have plenty of milk and so X 
give them new milk every day, first boiling it to prevent 
bowel trouble. When the little poults are just one week 
old -I pull out all the flight feathers in their \vings. By 
the time they grow out again the little birds have more 
strength to stand the strain of growing them. Since fol- 
lowing this plan I have had much better success in rais- 
ing them. 

I also go over them once a week and treat them for 
lice, rubbing a very little lard on toj) of the head, in the 
quill feathers on the wing and just below the vent. I lost 
a great many turkeys before 1 knew that when lice and 
mites were around the last named place they were most 
fatal. Remember I said a very little lard, for smearing 
the body with grease is sure death, as I learned by sad 




Markings on the Wing <)( one 
Bronze Tu 



experience. Occasionally I use some good insect powder 
instead of lard. 

.\fter they "shoot the red" and can be driven to the 
pastiires and meadows it is surprising to see how they 
will thrive and grow with only a little food to induce 
them to come home at night. A more beautiful sight in 
poultrydom than a large drove of Mammoth Bronze tur- 
keys with their bronze plumage glistening in the sunlight, 
I cannot imagine. 

TURKEYS AS PE.ST DESTROYERS 

Y^ears ago I used to raise the old fashioned mixed 
turkeys, but my husband grumbled so about what they 
destroyed that I gave up raising- them when he said if I 
would do so he would give me his note to pay :ne as much 
each fall as a drove of turkeys would bring. So I did not 
try to raise any for several years. Then a neighbor 
wanted to exchange some turkey eggs for some pure- 
bred Buff Cochin eggs and I made the exchange to accom- 
modate her, besides I wislied 
to raise a few to have for 
Thanksgiving and Christmas. 
I raised five very nice ones 
and killed two of them, but 
decided I could not manage 
any longer without turkeys 
and so kept a tom and two 
pullets to raise from the 
next year. The next fall I 
sold them all and bought six 
pure-bred turkey hens and a 
fine tom and went at it in 
good earnest so that the 
next j'ear I had a fine drove. 
Near the house we had 
forty acres in clover and the 
grasshoppers were so plenti- 
ful that the turkeys seldom 
went more than hiilf way 
across the field until they had 
all they w.anted. The result 
was that when the clover 
was cat for seed it was found 
that only the part where the 
turkeys had ranged was of 
any account. The grass- 
hoppers had ruined the other part. That convinced my 
husband that turkeys were a good thing to have around, 
in grasshojiper season at least. It was wonderful how 
those turkeys grew. 

This season we had our clover for seed on another 
part of the farm a mile or more from the house, and I 
had a drove of over one hundred turkeys. The grasshop- 
pers ate up all the clover seed. Every day my husband 
would say, "1 do wish those turkeys could get to that 
clover field, for the grasshoppers are ruining it, and I 
shall have to buy my clover seed." And so he did and he 
had to pay a good price for it. He said that after this 
experience he would try to have his clover for seed near 
the house. A prominent turkey breeder told me after- 
wards that I could have trained the turkeys to go to the 
field if I had begun to do it when they were first turned 
out to range. In a case of this kind again, I am going to 
try it. 

I hope this article may help some farmer's wife, 
whose husband, like mine did, does not think turkeys pay, 
and who, like myself, has need of some loose change. 
Perhaps the husband, like mine, will become convinced 
t?iat turkeys are the farmer's bcs'; friend. 



of J. T. Thompson's Mammoth 
rkev Males 



SUCCESS WITH TURKEYS 



Time and Method of Making a Start— Housing and Feeding Breeders— Nests and Food of Sitting Turkey,— Care of Poults— Lice 
Fattening Stock for Market — Preparing for tlie SIiow Room Diseases of Turkeys 



MRS. BETTIE GLOVER MACKEY 




JRULY there is more interest taken today in 
poultry culture than ever before In the his- 
tory of the American people. There seems to 
be an awakening to the fact, long proclaime'3 
by a few, that there is money in poultry. 
The question is seldom asked now, "Does 
poultry pay?" The form has changed and the question 
now is, "How can I manage my poultry to get the best 
returns?" 

It seems to me that the poultry business, and espe- 
ciallj' turkey culture, is 
one belt which reaches 
around the globe. Amer- 
ica is sending fine turkeys 
to foreign countries, and 
the west is furnishing the 
east with her best tur- 
keys. I have shipped tur- 
keys and eggs from ocean 
to ocean, from Canada t(> 
Mexico. The turkey is one 
American bird that will 
thrive in any land, will 
grow on any soil, or in 
any climate, and is con- 
sidered a luxury bj' all, 
from the king on his 
throne to the humblest 
laborer in his hut. 

There are more 
specialty fanciers than 
ever before and in no de- 
partment of poultry cul- 
ture is there more inter- 
est taken than in the tur- 
key department. Of the 
m a n y varieties, the 
Bronze is the leading one 

now bred. It is hardy, easy to breed to Standard, has fine 
style and is a beauty in color. It is of quick growth and 
will attain immense weight if fed for flesh. The objection 
is urged that the Bronze is more roving in disposition 
than other breeds. This disposition to roam is not con- 
fined to the Bronze alone, and the roaming turkey is 
more healthy than the one which hangs around the back 
door. Whether any other one will ever supersede the 
Bronze in popularity remains to be seen. Of one thing 
I feel assured, and that is that no breed now in existence 
will ever rival them. What may be produced by a cross 
we do not know. 

While there is general admiration for the turkey, 
and a desire to raise them, there seems to be, among 
those who have never handled them, an impression that 
turkeys are very hard to raise, very expensive to keep, 
and difficult to manage as to disposition, that is, that 
they are such a roving and wild nature it is almost im- 
possible to keep them at home or tame them. This last 
impression has grown out of the first. For years it was 
the custom, when turkeys hatched on the farm, to take 
them as far from the house as possible and put them in 




Mrs. MaokeyTand Her Turkeys at Home 



a place of security from vermin, and the only person who 
went near them were those taking them food. This was 
said to be the only way in which they could be raised, 
for if they were kept near the house they would be sure 
to become unhealthy and die. I well remember when 1 
thought this true. Of course, turkeys thus raised became 
timid and ran away from every thing or person they saw. 
They were generally fed until six or- eight weeks old and 
then allowed to make their own living. Naturally of a 
loving nature, they did not seek quarters near the house, 

and I have seen them fly 
to the highest trees 
whenever they %vere ap- 
proached. They would 
tear down shocks of corn> 
for how else were they to 
get their living? No one 
thought of feeding them. 

WILD TURKEYS IN 
VIRGINIA 

I do not agree with 
persons who think tur- 
keys are hard to raise 
and keep healthy. But 
they cannot be raised in 
a haphazard manner. Fol- 
low nature as nearly as^ 
possible, and the poults 
will do better. 

Wild turkeys abound 
in warm, woodland coun- 
tries. In the pinelands 
of Virginia (my native 
state) -ivild turkeys grow 
in large flocks. This is a 
mountainous region, 
rocky, abounding in 
springs of crystal water. 
The pine trees are in all forests, and it is said that there 
ir, more or less of the properties of turpentine in the water. 
Even in rainy seasons the rocky hills are not very wet 
and there are such large, sheltering trees the hen turkey 
can protect her young in the hardest storms. The sea- 
sons are mild and the pine trees are said to be a pre- 
ventive of vermin. .\s turpentine is sure death to lice, 
T think it reasonable that the pine will prevent them. 
There are abundant seeds and ^vild food for the fowls, 
^\^th plenty of insects and grit. 

Following this lesson in nature (where the wild tur- 
key thrives and large droves of tames ones are raised) 
I draw the conclusion that a hilly, rocky slope is a good 
locality; that turkeys must be kept dry, have plenty of 
pure water and fresh air, and at the same time not be 
allowed to become chilled. Either they must have a 
place where there is plenty of grit or it must be sup- 
plied to them. I do not favor giving poults or chicks hot 
feed. It is not the natural way and we cannot improve 
on nature. I have succeeded in raising strong, vigorous, 
gentle turkeys. 

That it is their nature to roam cannot be 



64 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



denied, but this may be greatly overcome by the treat- 
ment they receive. 

i:e(;i:>nin(; with eggs 

Frequently I am asked which is cheaper to begin 
with, eg-gs or stock. This question can be truthfully 
answered— Eggs and stock. Circumstances and sur- 
roundings largely decide which is cheaper. If you have 
Ihe money buy a trio of turkeys; if not enough for a 
trio, then a pair; but if you have not money enough to 
buy the turkeys, buy a sitting of eggs. I have made 
some very profitable investments in eggs. 

I have been asked if turkey eggs will hatch after 
being shipped? I rejily that where eggs are 
rightly packed and fairly handled there is nothing in the 
shipping to prevent a hatch. But there is a great deal 
in the hen under which they are set. Prom exactly the 
same lot of eggs set at the same time one hen will hatch 
several hours before the other and will hatch every egg, 
while the other hatch will be very poor. If you break 
the eggs decide whether it is the fault of the egg — an 
infertile egg will not rot, but will be as dear at the end 
of the hatch as when set. Turkey eggs are usually bet- 
ter fertilized than chicken eggs. 

Follow these directions when setting shipped eggs: 
.\llow them to rest tweuty-four hoxirs after receiving 
them; longer will not hurt if kept in a cool, dry place; 
put them under a quiet hen in a quiet place and disturb 
her as little as possible. If the weather is dry sprinkle 
the eggs with warm (not hot) water a few days before 
they are due to hatch; be sure they are clean. If an 
egg should be broken the others must be washed with a 
clean cloth in clear rain water; be sui-e there is no 
grease about it, as grease will prevent the eggs from 
hatching. 

BEGINNING WITH STOCK 

I should advise the beginner not to buy move than a 
trio. The mistake of almost all beginners is that they 
want to start with too many. 

When writing for breeding stock state just what line 
of business you are in. Do you wish to sell your stock 
on the market or as breeders? Do you wish to raise 
exhibition birds or simply good pure birds? Much of the 
unpleasantness between customers and advertisers would 
l)e obviated if each inquirer would make his wants clear. 

I think from the 25th of November to the first of 
February the best time to buy breeding stock. The 
sooner it is purchased after the first of December, the 
better, for at that time fanciers have plenty of good 
birds, while later you may have to take what you can 
get. Turkeys always pay, and while it may seem ex- 
pensive to pay for a torn to change blood, it will pay in 
the vigor of the young turkeys next jear. 

Do not hunt for the cheapest, but try for the best. 
This is not always the heaviest in weight, but the best 
bodied and the best in quality. Look out for healthy, 
vigorous stock. Do not wait until the weather is too 
cold to have the birds shipped without getting the roup. 
You may think this strange advice when I tell you my 
turkeys roost in trees all winter, but I have noticed that 
if you take a turkey that has been used to the cold and 
put it into a warm place and then expose it to the cold 
it is liable to take cold. This is what is done when tur- 
keys are shipped in bitter cold weather. They ai-e jmt 
into warm cars and exposed to the cold after being 
taken out and changed into a new home. Biiy your 
breeding stock early and turn it out and let. it get 
acclimated and used to the new home by breeding season. 



The most important part of turkey culture is to 
start with strong breeding stock. I will not breed from 
a fowl of any kind that is delicate. If I have weakly 
chicks or poults hatched I am always glad when they 
die. Yet it is true that a chicken or turkey may take 
cold and have a sore eye or head for a short time and 
not be materially injured as a breeder. Bxit when the 
disease becomes very bad or chronic, better kill the bird, 
for the progeny from a bird with a chronic disease will 
never be of any account. 

IN-BREEDING AND LINE BREEDING 

In selecting or buying breeding stock, do not buy 
inbred turkeys. If you do you will lose by it. Possibly 
you maj' get better markings, but can you afford to sac- 
rifice the vigor of your flock for these? 

I have been asked if I think it vsall do to breed from 
the same tom two years. The question, I pi-esume, has 
reference to using a tom with his pullets. There may be 
circumstances where this could be done to advantage. 
In order to secure certain points it might be done, yet I 
think not without loss in the number of turkeys raised. 
Demand, when ordering a trio of turkeys, that the 
breeder send male and female not related. 

I advocate line breeding and practice it. But this 
may be done very easily Without close inbreeding. I do 
it by mating on different farms every year. By look- 
ing up every sale and the yard from which the stock 
was taken, I avoid selling related stock. If a pen or 
trio is ordered, the tom is taken from one yard and the 
hens froui another. These are booked, and if the same 
customer orders again he gets new blood. To introduce 
new blood, I buy eggs and use the tonis in one yard, the 
)/ullets in another, thus keeping my own line, but intro- 
ducing- new blood. If necessary, I import a tom at the 
breeding season. 

One who has common turkeys would like to know 
whether it would be best to grade them up or start witli 
ihoroughbreds. I think this is simply a matter of what 
you wish to do with them. If only for market, the cross 
with a full Bronze tom will increase the size and beauty 
as well as the vigor of your flock. But why not get the 
best and sell your toms as breeders to your neighbors? 
If you have the full blood and are the first in your neigh- 
borhood to get thern, you can more than replace the cost 
ii: the excess of the price over market turkeys. 

Another asks, "How can I get larger turkeys? I 
have the Dronze, but thej' do not get as large as some 
I see advertised." 

Very often those advertised are never seen excej^t in 
the advertisement. But it is a fact that the size of tur- 
keys may be increased by breeding from not only good 
individual birds, but from birds of good stock. The 
greatest reason for production of smaller turkeys is in 
(he breeding. To save the price of a tom, a breeder de- 
cides to use one from his own flock, year after year. I 
do not know that using the same tom two years would 
cause the turkeys to degenerate in size, but the habit 
of inbreeding is injurious. 

Again and again comes the question, "Do you prefer 
an old tom or a young tom?" I can truly say, yes and 
no. It all depends on the conditions. I let the pur- 
chasers have their choice, but I always give to customers 
])referring young toms those which were bred from 
either yearling toms or yearling hens, and often both. 
Where young toms are bred with yearling hens or pul- 
lets of large bone and large ancestors, I see no difference 
in the size of the young. Still in my own breeding yards 
I use the old toms, for people want eggs from the largest 
stock to be found. 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



47 



VKiOR, SIZE AM) FAXCV POINTS 

Several have written asking- which I think is the 
most important point to consider in breeding- stock. My 
j-eply is, first vig:or, then size, and then fancy points. 
The reason I consider strong-, vigorous birds the first 
point to be looked after is patent. If the parent stock is 
not strong', the young will not be so. Mind, I do not 
say weight, but size. Turkeys that are not large framed 
birds may weigli ver^' heavy, especially young stock, but 
after they ars fully matured the little boned birds will 
not weigh so well. 

Why do I say I consider size first? Simply because 
the Standard requires weight and cuts harder for lack 
of weight than for anything else, and if we have to be 
governed by the Standard we must come to consider size 
in breeding stock. If you were to ask my personal 
])reference, I might give a different reply. The fancier 
must consider size in order to win in the show room, 
and then the turkeys are "cut all to pieces" on weight 
which they lose in shipping. Again, the fancier must 
consider" size because ten customers require large tur- 
keys where one requires fancy jioints. But the fancier 
must combine the size and fancy i)oints and this takes 
study in mating. It is not the rule that the largest tur- 
keys in the flock score the highest, be they ever so well 
bred. 

I will never believe that the demand for immense 
weights required by the Standard and turkey raisers is 
wise. I have lost the heaviest turkeys I ever owned 
simply from being over fat, and I do not feed very much 
lor flesh, either. It is not unusual for me to lose sales 
because I cannot quote as heavy weights as are de- 
manded, yet I have as large turkeys as any fancier. I 
know over-fat stock is not good for breeding purposes, 
and so does every one who has given the subject any 
careful attention, yet a turkej' must weigh so many 
pounds regardless of consequences. If the would-be 
piirchaser would be satisfied with Standard weights then 
there would be some reason in the demands, but I have 
often received inquiries in November for young toms 
weighing from thirty pounds up to sixty, "sixty pre- 
ferred." Now everj'body with common sense knows, or 
should be taught, that in this climate it is almost im- 
possible to make a young tom weigh thirty pounds in 
November or even December, and that to do so is an 
injury to breeding- qualities. From January to March 
young toms may weigh from twenty-eight to thirty-two 
pounds without any sj^ecial effort at fattening them. I 
prefer a pullet from sixteen to eighteen pounds rather 
than one heavier, and I know that 1 voice the sentiments 
of some of the best fanciers in the United States. The 
over large hen does not lay so many eggs, nor are those 
she does lay so fertile. 

It will not be many years before this demand for 
excessive weights will be greatly modified. Market poul- 
trymen say our Bronze turkeys are too large for their 
trade, and the market poultrymen must control the tur- 
key trade. If we continue to increase the size of the 
Bronze, some other breed will take its place, and when 
this happens the Bronze turkey fancier who has tried to 
excel all others by breeding- the heaviest weights will 
see this error. 

I hope I will not be con.sidered as advocating .small 
turkeys, for I am not, and I could call hundreds to tes- 
tify that I stand for large boned turkeys. The weights 
of mine as adults have not been excelled in the west, 
but what I do plead against is the demand for the pound 
of flesh, which is far easier to put on the short legged, 
small boned turkey, than oji the tall, majestic fellow. 



That will, as a yearling, weigh from thirty-five to forty 
|i(iunds. Tiie extremely heavy weights are fit only for 
the show room and the fancier's yard, while the medium 
sized bird is the better turkey for all purposes. I do not 
like to breed from excessively large turkeys, neither 
does any other fancier, and yet the fancier has created 
the demand for these birds by advertising exces.sive 
weights to catch trade, and the farmer has caught the 
spirit, aud without really knowing what is best, demands 
what he sees advertised. 

If I were a farmer raising- market poultry I would 
want tui'key pullets weighing from fifteen to seventeen 
pounds, good large-boned birds, not fat, and young toms 
weighing from twenty-four to twenty-eight pounds, or 
yearlings from thirty to thirty-five. I would hatch my 
turkeys early and in the fall they would be as good 
market turkeys as anybody would want. I would keep 
the pure Bronze turkeys, for nothing has ever equalled 
them. I would not do as some have done — ^inbreed until 
1 decreased both vigor and size of my birds, nor would 
X save the late small, runty turkeys to breed from. I 
would save nice pullets and yearling hens and buy a 
tom from some fancier every year; or if I were short of 
money I might keep one two years, though I prefer 
changing stock every year. One tom is sufficient for 
twelve hens, and more may be used with perfect safety. 
I would keep more hens than most farmers' wives do, 
ond iustead of breaking them up from sitting, I would 
let them sit on their own eggs, or if preferred, I would 
set the eggs part under the domestic hen, giving all the 
young to the turkey hen, and if I did not care to keep 
over so many hens I would sell the surplus after they 
had laid the early eggs. I raise late turkeys, but if I 
were not a poultry fancier, and were raising market 
poultry, I should not raise late turkeys; early ones are 
much more profitable, they are much hardier during the 
summer, and are not so apt to be affected with the dis- 
ease which takes off hundreds of young turkeys in the 
fall. 

The farmer should learn that he needs good, strong, 
large-boned, vigorous breeding stock, such as will take 
on flesh when he wishes to market them. Nobody wants 
a poor turkey to eat and if the ten-pound one is fat and 
brings more by the pound than the twenty pound one 
it still pays to have the twentj'-pound one, but when the 
marketman says he can scarcely use the forty-pound 
ones at any price because only hotels and large 
restaurants want them, the farmer has no need for forty- 
]ionnd young turkeys, as some demand. 

BREEDING FANCY TURKEYS 
As to shape of tom and hens to breed from — I select 
large head and feet, long- body, long neck, held well -up, 
and a broad back and breast, with long shanks. A short 
turkey will fatten earlier and look larger when not fully 
matured than the rangy one, but the latter will make 
the weight at maturity much heavier, and will produce 
larger turkeys. I select hens the same way, yet if they 
are specially well marked and g-ood in weight I would 
not discard them if not quite as tall as I like them to 
be when pullets. I am sometimes disappointed in pul- 
lets, but cannot remember that I ever have been in a 
tom — pullets sometimes are no larger at two than at one 
year old. They often stop growing at one j^ear, while a 
tom never does. Other pullets grow until they are two 
and three years old. 

My method of mating is simply this: Select the very 
best tom possible, and in females do not discard a very 
fine marked one because it is not quite as large as de- 
sired. By thin I do not mean that I breed from small 



48 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 







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Some of the Fine Ones Raised on a Missouri Farm 

A Flock of Turkeys belonging to Miss Addie Brown 



boned females. There are some larger than others in all 
flocks of the same age, and I should not advise the use 
in the breeding pen of an undersized female, or a runt. 
Nor should I discard from my breeding yard an extra 
large female because she is not quite up in fancy points 
for the reason that the tom will overcome to some ex- 
tent the defects. The well marked female will produce 
large stock from the mating with a large torn, ""and the 
one not so well marked will produce evenlj' marked 
young from the mating with a well marked tom. Yet 
these must be exceptional cases, for it will not do for a 
fancier to have many females in his breeding yard that 
are not well marked and not very large. By undersized, 
we mean pullets, for if at two years old a hen is not of 
average size I should discard her unless there were some 
special point I wanted to impress on my flock. I think 
young turkeys get size from the maternal side, even 
more than from the paternal. Never should a fancier 
use a late, small-boned tom, or a poorly marked one. As 
a rule toms get very thin in summer if mated with hens, 
and they do not eat a great deal until cold weather. I 
have known a tom to weigh twenty-six pounds in No- 
vember and thirty-five by January. Turkeys will gain 
two pounds a week in cold weather, unless there is snow 
on the ground, then they will stay on the roost and will 
not eat. 

I once had a red legged turkey pullet. She was not 
large when young, but her legs were almost too deeply 
colored to be called pink. I bred from her as long as 
she lived, or, I should say, until she was stolen. I could 
tell the turkeys from her eggs. They were a good size 
and invariably had pink legs when young, though not 
as deeply colored as were hers. From this hen I got 
that line of breeding which g'ives in some of my yards 
pink legs in young stock. I can tell it wherever I find it. 
But this is the only female I ever kept that was under- 
size after she was a pullet. The rule is that the shanks 
are dark when young. Some of the best hens in size have 
dark shanks always, while others get very bright pink — 
I prefer the pink legs, other things being equal. But 1 



am candid when I say that I make size and not weight 
the first consideration in breeding stock. 

Never breed from a turkey with a natural deformity. 
1 once bought a sitting of eggs from one of the foremost 
fanciers I know. The only pullet raised had a crooked 
toe, but she was so fine I felt I could breed from her. 
Every year there would be a lot of turkeys, with crooked 
toes, and these were the very best otherwise. It took 
several years to get entirely rid of crooked toes. 

While there are fewer culls among turkeys than 
there are among chickens, it is also true that under the 
present Standard some of the very best breeding birds 
are not first-class exhibition turkeys. For instance, all 
turkey raisers know that there is a tendency to brown 
edging on tail coverts in some specimens, and it is a 
notable fact that these specimens are usually very 
strong in wing barring and that they are decidedly 
larger boned than those which possess the Standard gray 
and white edging. Now such a bird cannot be sold for 
exhibition, but if one is raising turkeys for market and 
selling toms to other market breeders, what better 
breeder would he want than this same brown tailed tur- 
key, for as the market poultryman pays for pounds, it 
is the tom %vith size that one raising for market must 
get. Again, one may be poor in wing for exhibition and 
fine as a breeder. Yet I am sure that at least ninety per 
cent of the best bred Bronze turkeys can be put on ex- 
hibition when fully up in weight, and whether they win 
a prize or not they do credit to the owner. The main 
thing in breeding is to select healthy, vigorous breeding 
stock of good size and shape, with the very best mark- 
ings possible. Don't expect perfection, but try to attain 
as near it as possible. Patience, perseverance and knoAvl- 
edge will bring success. 

CARE OF BREEDING STOCK— EGGS 

When once you have your stock, be sure that you get 
yoiir turkey eggs. To do this I keep my turkeys penned. 
1 would prefer letting turkeys run at large if I could do 
so with much convenience to myself. But to follow 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



49 



from twenty-five to thix-tj' turkeys to their nests is too 
great an undertaking for me, and I keep them in a 
large pen until after they have laid. . Each afternoon 
about 4 o'clock I turn them out in an orchard of blue 
grass. After a few days they will come to the gate 
and call to get out. If I forget, they do not; but they 
always go back to the pen to roost. I find grass very 
essential both to the fertility of the eggs and to increase 
the number, and also to keep the turkeys healthy. If I 
were so situated that I could not let them out to 
eat grass, I would feed wheat bran vrith flowers of sul- 
phur in it every other day in small quantities. There 
must be sulphur to insure fertility, but the grass sup- 
plies it. Plenty of lime, gravel and grass, with wheat 
twice a day, is all turkeys need. If ,too closely confined 
turkeys will not thrive and I believe that the freer the 
range the more eggs the turkey will lay, but when they 
lay where you cannot find the nest and you lose both 
hen and eggs, as I have often done, you will prefer to 
get the eggs they do lay in the pen. 

My turkey house is sixteen feet long, eight feet wide 
and has two partitions, making three rooms in it. It is 
made of barn boarding- sixteen inches wide. Two of 
these boards are put together at the bottom, but as they 
go up cracks are left so that the air can pass through; 
however, they are too close for animals to get through. 
It is one-half' foot high in front and three feet in the 
back and is set out in the orchard where the poults will 
have a seven acre range of their own. This turkey shed 
has proved a success, and my young turkeys have seldom 
failed to come up at night. I think the large, airy roost- 
ing i)lace provided has had something to do with their 
coming up, for in small roosting places I was always 
compelled to drive them in, while all I do now is to turn 
them into the pen and they go to roost themselves. 

The fence is the best I have ever used. It is made 
of straight farm fence wire, with stays and locks. The 
wires are only three inches apart at the bottom, and 
the distance apart is increased as they get higher. 

I do not like to cut the wings of large 
turkeys for they often get up in trees and 
when they fly down they hurt themselves. 
My show birds are often spoiled by cutting 
the wings. They do not always grow out in 
time for the show. I do not cut the wings of 
the toms because they will stay with the 
hens. 

The natural instinct of the turkey is to 
roost high and in ordinary weather I think it 
is best for them to be out of doors. My ex- 
perience is that the first turkey to get droopy 
is one roosting low in the same place night 
after night, unless the droppings are either 
removed frequently or the impurities counter- 
acted by frequent applications of either air 
slaked or quick lime. 

I am often asked if one living on a small 
place can be successful with turkeys. If bj' 
small place is meant a town lot, certainly 
not. If an eight, ten or twenty acre place is 
meant, you may be successful with a limited 
number; and if you trespass on your neigh- 
bors and they allow it, you may be success- 
ful with a larger number. It is no 
question whether turkeys can be kept 
space succes-sfully, for so many overworked women 
are penning the birds and so getting eggs with much 
less labor, proving that with proper care the stock will 



be just as vigorous. We do not claim they lay quite as 
many eggs, but we get more of them. 

My experience has been equally divided between a 
farm and a small place for raising turkeys. I have lived 
seven years where my turkeys had unlimited range and 
seven years on an eight-acre place. I give the farm the 
preference after the turkeys are grown. Until they are 
six or seven weeks old they do as well on a small place, 
but from that time until they are gro\vn the larger the 
range the better for the growth of the young turkeys, 
and yet the finest turkeys I have ever raised were 
raised on the small place; but this is not an argument in 
favor of it, for they could have been raised with much 
less labor and expense on a larger one. 

HOW MANY HEXS TO A TOM? 

I make twelve hens the number for one torn, as a 
rule, but once I kept twenty hens with a tom that was 
two years old in May or June, and never had eggs hatch 
better. The question of how to manage when more than 
one tom is desired in the same yard, is a troublesome 
one. The most satisfactory way in which I have man- 
aged it is to let only one tom in the yard at a time. Let 
one stay in the yard several days, keeping the other 
where he cannot be seen or see the turkeys in the yard. 
Then change, putting the one in the yard in confinement 
and letting the other out. Some advocate changing 
toms every day where changing is practiced at all, but I 
prefer letting each tom stay in the yard several days at 
a time. Where more than twenty hens are kept, two 
toms should be used as above directed if all the hens are 
kept in the same pen. After the hens begin laying one 
tom may be disposed of if so desired. After the first 
clutch of eggs is laid I find that all the hens never lay at 
the same time during the season. Some are sitting, some 
stop laying and begin again, and some carry turkeys, so 
that one tom is sufficient after the first fertilization. 
But it is always safe to have the second one at command 
if one should die. 




Getting Ready for Thanksgiving 

Notice the fine, white edging on the spread tail of the tom in the center of the 
group. Miss Addie Brown's Bronze Turkeys. 



longer a 
on small 



How long can a tom be used, or when is he too old 
for service? I do not know. 1 use them two years and 
have sold yearlings that were kept three years. I never 
go to extremes in mating, that is, do not beep too old 
or too young breeding stock. 



50 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



FEEDING THE BHEEDIXU 8T0CK 

The breeding stock shoxild never be excessively fat. 
All stock raisers will agree with this assertion. There 
is nothing more jjrodnctive of soft shelled and infertile 
eggs than over-fat hens and toms. 

What to feed for the prodnction of eggs has been 
a question. I confess that I have lost faith in hot 
rnashes for either chickens or tin-keys, and I never feed 
hot food to either young or old. Neither do I give hot 
drinking water. I was first forced to adopt "the cold feed 
from sickness. I coultl not get anyone to jorepare a 
mash that did not make it sloppy and I soon learned 
whole grain was far more healthful than sloppy food. 
If turkeys have free range during laying season they eat 
very little that you feed them. Keep grit and lime on 
hand in abundance and sow wheat for them. If it is laid 
in a pile they often leave it, but if scattered broadcast 
they will pick all day. Turkeys in their normal condi- 
tion do not sit around during laying season; they are 
active and want to roam and pick as they go. I often 
scatter the food after they go to roost, as they are 
early risers and begin picking before I have time to 
g-ive them their breakfast. One thing you may depend 
upon and that is, to have turkeys lay well, and lay fertile 
eggs, they must ha\e an egg producing diet in some way. 
If they run at large they will get this without any 
trouble to the owner, but if they are confined it mu.st 
be given them. One year I fed soaked oats with excel- 
lent results, but I would not give oats without soaking 
them. I mix shipstutt" with them so they are not so wet. 
Wet food sours in the crop. 

When should turkeys begin to lay? The rule in my 
yards is, about the middle to the last of March. I 
once had turkeys lay the last of February. My mother 
told me the '"old-fashioned turkeys" — bj' that she meant 
the common ones — laid earlier than the Bronze. I think 
the climate may influence the habit of earlier or later 
laying. In a southern climate they lay earlier than in 
the northern. 

If you want many eggs, you must breed from year- 
ling hens and pullet?. Old hens do not lay as many eggs, 
and exti-a large ones do not lay as many eggs as smaller 
ones. A tall turkey will lay more eggs than a short 
one. Why? I do not know. I think the last eggs laid 
by the hen before sitting sometimes i^roduce jioults with 
less vitality than the others. 

Will the eggs from yearling turkej' hens hatch as 
well as those from pullets? I think they will, the great- 
est danger of infertility lying in getting them over-fat. 
They miist be kept vigorous and health}-, but do not 
overfeed in order to get weight. 

I am often asked how many egg's a turkey hen will 
lay. One of mine last year laid eighty, which is the 
largest number I ever could vouch for. Of course she 
was not allowed to sit. 

One asks, "Do you think July too late to hatch tur- 
keys?" 

We have two toms which weighed in March twenty- 
eight pounds vathout having been fattened; they were' 
hatched July 3. 

July and August hatched turkeys of large vigorous 
stock make good breeding birds the first year and excel- 
lent ones the second year, but unless scarce of breeding 
stock we usually farm out the late hatches the first year, 
and put them in our breeding yards the second. From 
these late hatches we give our turkey dinners during the 
winter. 

I dispensed w-ith the barrels this year, having only 
one. I put straw in the hollows and covered them over 



with brush, allowing Ihe turkeys to think Ihey were 
stealing their nests. From twenty-six hens I got seven- 
teen eggs per daj', show-ing that confining the heiis as I 
do does not materially lessen the egg yield. When the 
eggs are removed as they are laid, and I think it should 
be done everj- day, either nest egg gourds, china nest 
eggs or real egg;s should be -pnt in the nest. Few tvir- 
keys will continue to lay in a nest after all the eggs are 
removed from it. I usually put three or four infertile 
eggs in the nest as soon as I find a turkey has laid in 
it. This often saves much trouble, and j^et with all 
my care every year I lose both hens and eggs, for either a 
rain washes out a hole, a wind blows down the fence or 
they fly out after their wings grow out and steal nests. 

CARE OF SITTIN(t HEN.S—ECiG.S— NESTS 

How many eggs will a turkey hen lay before she 
sits? Some lay more than others, but I never had a hen 
that laid more than fifteen or sixteen eggs before she 
wanted to sit and I have many more that lay only twelve 
than I have that lay fifteen. A turkey hen may easily 
be broken from sitting if she is taken in time, and by 
this means I often get twenty to thirty eggs before I 
allow- a hen to sit. A hen will lay in ten days after she 
is stopped from sitting and some times in shorter tinre. 

If you do not w-ish to make the nest as suggested 
above, then use not a flour or lime barrel, but a salt 
barrel. I turn the barrel down on the side, putting it 
under a tree or in a shady place. The turkey wall 
scratch the nest up for the first few days, but the barrel 
is a temptation she cannot resist and she will lay in it. 
1 always piit down several barrels, though I find the tur- 
keys all like to lay in the same one. 

If the hen is thoroughly dusted with a good insect 
powder when set, and the top outside of ,the barrel 
lightly painted with a good lice killer, she wall be free 
from lice when the hatch comes off. Be sure in using this 
that you do not put it where it will touch the eggs or 
feathers of sitting hens. If you do you will in all prob- 
ability fail to get a good hatch. 

I set from seventeen to nineteen — never more. If 
the hen is large and the nest well made, nineteen eggs 
may be put under her safely. 

Usually I hav(! a turkey and domestic hen hatch the 
same time and give all the turkeys to the turkey hen. I 
have not been as successful mth domestic as with turkey 
hens until this season. 1 know two other breeders who 
raise turkeys altogether with domestic hens, and they 
are very successful indeed. As a rule, however, the tur- 
key hen is the better mother, especially after the poults 
are seven weeks old, for other hens wean them too early. 
1 think a very good plan is to let both chicken and tur- 
key hens have young turkeys the same age, and when 
the chicken hens wean those under their charge the tur- 
keys will let them follow them and care for them all. 

Do not set your turkeys where there will be anything 
to disturb them. When they hatch be careful to 
handle them very gently. If I find I have one cross 
turkey about to hatch, and I have a gentle, kind one not 
due to hatch, I exchange the eggs and let the gentle 
turkey hatch the brood. I find to prolong the period of 
incubation tones the refractory disposition and often a 
turkey that will be fus.sy at the end of four weeks, will 
be gentle at the expiration of five. 

Few people, comparatively s|)eal<ing-, know how to 
set a turkey or domestic hen, or how to catch either a 
turkey or chicken. When you find your turkey broody, 
let her alone until night. Have your nest prepared in 
some quiet place where siie will be undisturbed by other 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



51 



f<)\vls. Make the nest with care. 1 like the grass nest 
better tliaii anything else, but as I do not have a bounti- 
ful .supply oi this I use wheat straw. I do not like haj^ 
nests at all. TNIake them a ei-y much the shape, but not 
so deep, as a wash bowl. If too deep the eggs will roll 
over each other and either be l)roken or they will not 
be kept of an even temjierature during incubation, ilake 
a full, thick nest, for four weeks' sitting will mash the 
straw down, very much. Put two or three hen eggs, as 
they are not so valuable as turkey eggs, in the nest. At 
night go to the hen very quietl3' and put both hands 
under her, taking her firmly by the leg, close to the 
body and lift her straight up. Don't drag her out of the 
nest. Put her head vmder your arm gently, talking to 
her all the time. Place her on the new ne.st very gentlj' 
and set a blind firmly in front of it. The next morning 
you may peep in. It will be an exceptional case if she is 
not sitting' as well as she did on her old nest. I look at 
her again about roosting time. If I find her restless I 
Jet her off. If she is kept on the nest in this restless, 
nervous state, she will break the eggs and likely will not 
sit at all. She will ijrobably try to get to her former 
nest, but as dark approaches she will go to the new one; 
or if she does not allow her to go to the old one and re- 
move her as before. I have often had to do this several 
times with one hen. As a rule, however, the second time 
is enough. You may say that it is a great deal of 
trouble. I do not call it trouble. It is work, and I learned 
very early in life that to be successful in anything re- 
quired patience and work. 

After the hen has fully decided to accept the nest 
given her then put the turkey eggs under her. So many 
people waste by haste. ^Vhat difference will two, three 
or four days make in the age of the poults? But what 
a calamity to have a sitting of turkej- eggs spoiled by a 
restless hen. 

I usually give my txukeys the opportunity of getting 
off the nest every day. I find this much more satisfac- 
tory than keeping tliem so long without allowing them 
the chance to get off. Often they do not come off for 
.several days, and I had one hen that never came off in 
iour weeks except as I took her off the nest. I then 
had to put the blind up in front of the nest and force her 
to stay off long enough to eat. I thought that I cer- 
tainly would have a good hatch from this hen, but I had 
onlj- ten ijoults from seventeen fertile eggs. She had 
smothered the turkeys by sitting so close. Turkey eggs 
hatch better than chicken eggs, but they require more 
moisture. 

If the weather is wet I do not moisten the eggs, but 
if dry I sprinkle them the last week. When the eggs 
have been setting- until within three or four days of the 
time to hatch, put them in clean, warm water — 100 de- 
grees is about right, or if it goes to 10-4 it will not hurt. 
All the eggs which have live poults in them will move 
very perceptibly. Those which sink to the bottom have 
dead poults, and those which float v\-ithout any jerky mo- 
tion are spoiled or infertile. However, the infertile eggs 
usually sink. 

TURKEY EtiGS IX INCUBATORS 

Will turkej' eggs hatch in an incubator? They cer- 
tainly will. I once told a lady that from fourteen turkey 
eggs in an incubator I got fourteen turkeys. She in all 
seriousness replied that "a hen would do as well as 
that." If you expect more than one turkey from an 
egg an iiieubator will likely disappoint you. I do not 
hatch turkey eggs in an incubator because I do not wish 
to raise the young in brooders; but if an egg gets broken 



I put it in an incubator. Last season the finest young 
turkey I had hatched was from an egg- with quite a lai'ge 
piece of shelU broken off" of the large end and I cut a 
piece of cotton cloth just a little larg'er than the hole 
and made a flour paste, just touched the edges of the 
cotton with it and placing it over the cavity, put the egg 
in an incubator and it hatched in due time. The reason 
1 used cloth was — it is nearer the texture of the shell. 
Paiier is not porous enough. Flour paste is better than 
glue; use only just enough to make the cloth adhere to 
the eg'g\ With a clean, damp cloth I wiped off all sur- 
plus paste after the cloth was j)ut on the egg'. This 
would not have hatched under a hen, as she would have 
broken the egg. 

Usually I do not care to have turkeys hatch until 
after the cold spell in May. But it is all right earlier if 
the weather is warm. Yet if they come out any time in 
ilay thej- v.U\ get the weight for the December and 
January shows. This is one advantag-e southern breeders 
have over western. We shiii turkey eggs south as soon 
as the turkeys begin to lay. When one has a large num- 
ber of early hatched turkeys I would not advise the 
raising of late ones unless they can be entirely separated 
from other fowls of everj' kind. But if for any reason 
you have failed to have early hatched ones, hatch them 
late. They make fine table fowls. 

Years ago I bought a sitting of eggs from a ijrom- 
inent turkey fancier. 1 was sorely disappointed when j. 
iipened them as I had never seen such small turkey eggs. 
I made another order to another fancier and never saw 
larger eggs than I received. The turkeys hatched from 
the small eggs grew to be larger at maturity, though of 
course they were not so large wlien hatched. 

One tom from the small eggs weighed forty-four 
])ounds at two years old and one hen twenty-four. Those 
from the large eggs never got so large, though they wei-e 
tine turkeys. In speaking of this to an old lady and my 
surprise at results, she replied: "I don't see why you 
should be surprised. Nature does not vary much, whether 
in lower animals, the feathered tribe or the human 
family. All depends on the blood." I believe the old 
lady was right. I prefer medium sized eggs, both in tur- 
keys and chickens. I find the very large eggs hatch 
large young, but they are not generally as well formed 
and often are weak legged and while medium sized ones 
hatch smaller young they seem more vigorous and grow 
much faster. Of course there are eggs that are small to 
deformity — so are there those that are large to deform- 
ity. Often the last egg- laid before a hen goes to sitting 
will be so small it will have no yolk at all. It is also 
true that the largest eggs are not always laid by the 
largest hens, though as a rule pullets lay smaller eggs 
than hens. 

Many do not know the difference between an in- 
fertile and a rotten egg. A rotten egg is never clear and 
an infertile egg is always clear at hatching time and 
does not have an offensive odor. Eggs may rot from age 
or because they are not sufficiently fertilized and the 
germ dies before maturing, and they may rot under 
hens which sit well, but do not have sufficient body heat 
to hatch them. Again they may be set where there is 
too much dampness, which causes them to rot. 

We are often asked if fanciers do not sell eggs too 
high. We think not, for several reasons. First, cus- 
tomers often write that from five dollars' worth of eggs 
they sell ten dollars' worth of turkeys and have a good 
breeding pen left. Second, fanciers are at great expense 
to hold stock enough to supply egg orders, and run much 
rish in holding over so many turkeys which could 



52 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



be sold in the spring. Third, the customers build their 
reputations on the fancier's work, and certainly this is 
worth something. You are not simply buying eggs from 
the fancier, but you are buying the experience of years. 

CARE OF POI'LTS-FEEDIXG— LICE 

I would by all means prefer a turkey hen to carry 
the turkeys. The natural mother is the turkey hen. She 
seems to understand turkey nature better than the do- 
mestic hen. There is only one advantage gained by 
letting the domestic hen carry the poults; they do not 
wander so far from home, though I think this is counter- 
acted by the disposition of the domestic hen to wean 
them when they need a mother's care as much as when 
first hatched. And the turkey hen never begins to 
wander so far until the poults are as old as they are 
when domestic hens wean them. I find that it is the 
poults which lead the mothers away; they go and the 
mother follows. 

It is a mistake to give a turkey so many poults; of 
course she may raise them all, but the chances are much 
better for her to raise all of twenty than they are for 
her to raise thirty to thirty-five. 

When the poults hatch be careful in your manage- 
ment of both the young and the hen. I try to have the 
nest fastened very securely so that the little ones cannot 
get out, for they will get out of the nest and get chilled. 
Sometimes they hatch a day ahead of time. I look in the 
nest the night of the twenty-seventh day and if there are 
any poults I take out the shells and if there are only 
three or four poults I leave them in the nest; if there 
are six or eight I take them out and keep them in a 
flannel cloth in a basket in the house, as so many left in 
the nest will cause the hen to sit off the eggs in a hover- 
ing position. If you take out only a very few they may 
get chilled. In the morning I go again and remove 
the dry poults and egg shells. By night she will be done 
hatching, but as some of the poults are weak I just put 
a few of them in the nest with her so she will not refuse 
to take them in the morning. In the morning I have 
a quiet place ready for her and I give them to her. 

I think I have at last gotten the ideal turkey coop. I 
found that the large coops with divisions in them were 
all right when the poults were very small, but when 
from five weeks old to the time of going on roosts, they 
were too crowded in the division coops. I now have 
coops four feet square, with height of back four feet and 
height of front five feet. The sides are of screen wire, 
the back and front of plank, with a tight board roof. 
These are set in the orchard and are moved to a fresh 
grass plot every week when the poults are very small, 
and every two or three days as they grow older. I have 
board roosts put in them as the poults want to go on 
roosts, and let them roost in these coops until all danger 
of drowning from heavy rains is past. Turkeys must 
have plenty of air. They cannot stand confinement in 
close coops. These I now have are, so far as air is con- 
cerned, as good as if they sat out, and they are safe 
from "varmints." 

FEED FOR POULTS 

I have tried almost every plan I ever heard of and 
have finally settled down into one way of feeding. I 
believe the nearer we imitate nature the more success- 
ful we will be in poultry culture. I feed very little of 
anything to poults, especially very little bread. 

I never feed my poults until they are from twenty- 
four to thirty-six hours old. Then I put them out in a 
grass pasture in a large, roomy coop, with grass runs 
attached. The first feed I give is milk curd with onion 



tops and tongue or pepper grass cut very fine, seasoned 
with black pepper. I give this morning, noon and night. 
As they grow older I add other things to the food 
Table scraps are splendid for them. If I have infertile 
incubator eggs later, experience teaches me the raw egg 
broken in the food from the first is good food, better 
than hard boiled eggs. I never use a fresh egg, simply 
because I do not consider it at all necessary. I give milk 
instead of drinking water when it is plentiful. Milk has 
all the elements of food for the human or poultry race, 
hence I feed all I can spare to my poultry. Heat the 
milk, but do not boil. 

I keep grit constantly before them. Wheat is one of 
the finest of foods for young turkeys, but it must be pure 
wheat, not cheat. Cracked corn is splendid when they 
are older. My rule has been to mix grains of wheat in 
the food from the first, so that when they are old 
enough to change from curd to grain it will not be hard 
to change foods. 

I have used corn chops and ship stuff, equal parts, 
put in the stove and made very hot, then pour cold water 
over it and have found it very good. Still I believe 1 
must have some wheat mixed in. Lime should be kept 
where they can get it at will, but it should be lime that 
has been slaked a long time. I believe fresh Ume will 
kill old and young turkeys. 

As soon as they are old enough to eat whole corn 
give it to them, for nothing makes them grow faster 
and gets them ready for the show room quicker. 

It is very hard to get a young turkey to change its 
habits of eating. If j'ou commence feeding them in a 
plate it is hard to change to a pan or on the ground._ 
The same holds true of the diet. Whatever they learn to 
eat at first is what they want until they are grown. If 
the food could be scattered and the turkeys allowed to 
hunt for it, it would be much better for them. 

The great trouble is not so much what to feed as 
what not to feed. Turkeys should not be overfed; this 
is the mistake made by so many amateurs. They think 
the more they feed the faster the little ones will grow. 
If it were possible to raise the turkeys and keep them 
from the clutches of "varmints" (there is nothing more 
expensive), the very best way to raise them would be 
to give them to the hen and let her take care of them 
during the day and feed them just a little in the evening 
to keep them gentle and make them come home. 

Do not allow your poults to become wild. If when 
you go to feed them you will call them and talk to them, 
they will learn to come to you anywhere. My turkeys 
and my Leghorns are gentle, and will come to me when- 
ever they hear my voice. If possible, let none but a 
g-entle hen carry yoiing turkeys. A mild mother makes 
mild turkeys. "Like mother, like daughter" is certainly 
true of turkeys. 

I find that cracked wheat put into the stove and 
browned as we used to brown our coffee, with just 
enough cold water or sweet milk poured over it when 
taken out of the oven to dampen it thoroughlj-, makes a 
very fine food for poults. I grind the wheat in a coffee 
mill. This I mix with milk curd and fine chopped onions. 

Until I have fully tested it I will not give my opin- 
ion in favor of doubtful foods, and I confess I was afraid 
to give the corn chops used as chicken food, though I 
believed it would be good if fed judiciously. One season 
I began when the poults were four weeks old giving corn 
chops at night. I just dampened with cold water and 
I never saw turkeys thrive better in my life. Be sure 
you do not get that ground with the cob. It is not 
fit to feed either to chickens or poults. 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



53 



I used blood meal one season and liked it very much. 
I think in order to give it I shall feed soft food at least 
once per v?eek during- the year. I am sure that for grov?- 
ing poults and chicks it is very fine. It seems to be of 
great benefit to them while feathering. 

After turkeys are ten weeks old all that is necessary 
on a large grain farm is to see that they are protected 
at night. They will glean their own living from the 
fields, and while the "gude man" may complain, yet if 
he will only watch them closely he will be convinced 
they are a benefit to his crop instead of an Injury. Last 
year the turkeys saved the corn, but the chinch-bug 
killed the turkeys in many localities. Turn a flock of 
young turkeys when from two or three months old or 
even five or six weeks old in your potatoesi and cabbage; 
they will not hurt them, but -ivill keep them free from 
bugs. Yet there is one kind of potato bug they seldom 
pick; if they .do it kills them. But the cabbage worm 
does thena no harm and they do not when young hurt 
the cabbage. They clean the corn of grasshoppers and 
glean after harvest in the wheat fields what everything 
else has overlooked. 

Poults will not bear handling. Mine are very gentle 
and eat out of my hands, still I never handle them in my 
hands if I can avoid it. It will not do to try to raise 
young turkeys in the same yard with other fowls. They 
are so tender that chickens run over them. One snap 
from the bill of a domestic hen will kill a very young 
turkey. 

What do you do with your little turkeys during a 
cold or wet spell? 

We shut them up in the house they roost in and let 
them stay there if it is very wet or cold, but if not very 
cold we let them out on our front lawn. The grass is 
never very high, and as a rule the hen will hover them 
and keep them better than in a crowded spot. Keep little 
turkeys dry and warm, for if they once get wet or 
chilled they seldom recover. Some hens are more rest- 
less than others. If possible to avoid it never let a rest- 
less hen foster turkeys; however, one good feature about 
them is that they are generally of that spiteful class 
that will protect their little ones. 

It does not hurt them to turn them out soon after 
a hard rain if the sun comes out warm and bright, but 
if it is cold and cloudy they will die from exposure and 
being chilled. 

But if at any time they should be caught out and 
some seem dead when found, make a fire and warm and 
rub them well. Often I have brought both chicks and 
poults to life that seemed perfectly dead. Keep them 
near the fire, but do not let them get too hot, until they 
are entirely dry. Give each of them a cracked grain of 
black, or a seed of red pepper. This warms them and 
stimulates them. 

1)0 not put the young turkeys out near ant holes, 
as the ants if swallowed sting the crop and kill the fowl, 
and often the ants sting the poults on the body and kill 
them. 

Poults are greatly benefitted by having their v^ings 
and tails cut. I find they get about so much better, and 
IT a rain comes up they do not seem to get as wet, or if 
they do they dry so much faster. It takes so much 
strength to support the long wing and tail feathers that 
if they are kept short until the turkeys are two months 
old they will be much stronger than if the wings and 
tail are left to grow vrithout cutting. I cut the flight 
feathers about half, and the tail about the same. 

There is very little expense attached to rearing tur- 



keys, but as a rule there is a great deal of work until 
they are ten weeks old. 

Summing up the requisites for success in raising 
poults may be done in the following simple words: 

First, have vigorous parent stock, not over fat. 
Take care that the poults are not chilled the first two 
or three weeks of their lives. Be careful not to over- 
feed the poults. They require very little food for three 
weeks; after that time feed all they will eat three times 
a day until they are ready for market. If, however, you 
have grain fields for range they will eat very little of 
your food after they are six weeks old until late in the 
season. Be sure to keep them free from vermin. It is 
almost impossible to cure a droopy poult. If one is 
droopy, try to find the cause and remove it before the 
entire flock becomes afflicted. Young turkeys \vill do 
better with no human attention than with too much. 

FUiHTING LICE ON POULTS AND ADULTS 

I find that whitewashing the house in which my 
fowls are kept and keeping it thoroughly clean has been 
a sure preventative of vermin on my young turkeys. 

Use tobacco stems and tobacco dust as follows: 
Smoke the roosting places with the stems and sprinkle 
the floors with the dust. If the coop in which the hen 
is put with the poults is whitewashed inside and outside 
before she is put in, she will not become lousy. 

I swept the roosting coop every day and dusted it 
once a week with air-slaked lime. Lime must be dusted 
sparinglj', for if too much is used it will make the feet 
sore. 

When the nest has been well prepared and dusted 
there are seldom any lice, on the little ones when 
hatched. But I dust the hen with Persian insect powder 
when I take her from the nest, being very careful to 
shake the dust well out so that it vnll not get into the 
eyes of the little ones, as it may make them blind. 

The turkey louse is about the color of the poult and 
is very hard to find by one not experienced in the art 
of hunting them. They are between the quill (flight) 
feathers and are often in solid knots, and at first glance 
vrill not be discovered, as they do not move until dis- 
turbed. A little clear lard oil will kill them, but it must 
be very carefully used. I prefer using it at night. Dust 
the hen well with insect powder when you turn her out 
in the morning. I know most persons say at night, but 
I have found the powder gets into the eyes of the poults. 

One thing is certain and that is that poults must be 
kept free from lice and mites. Then it is equally cer- 
tain that if not careful in the use of remedies for these 
the poults may be killed. A little pure lard on the head, 
around vent, and on the wings, where the flight feathers 
come out, may be used to advantage, but too much is 
absolutely fatal. I would not advise the use of sulphur 
in lard to grease the heads. The lard is sufficient and 
the sulphur takes away proper use of legs; it is also 
liable to cause blindness. Use clear lard or thick cream 
Liquid lice killer is equally dangerous if not carefully 
used. It may be put on the outside of the coops or a 
little on inside after they are a fe%v weeks old, provided 
it is done in the morning and the coops are aired well 
during the day. Never put it on the floors, for if the 
hen sits over it, it vvdll suffocate the poults. This is 
equally true of little chicks. I have tried it and know 
from experience. Yet there are no better insecticides 
than these liquid lice killers if properly used. They will 
kill mites and chiggers and everything in that line, even 
bedbugs, which infest hen houses in some localities. 

Southern turkey breeders complain that many poults 



54 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



are killed by chiggers, which do more damage than any 
other OBe thing-. 

We presume this is the little grass chigger which 
buries itself in the iiesh — at least it does on people— 
and is very hard to exterminate and very j^ainful to 
endure. We had never thought of this. The only remedy 
known to us is grease, and too much of that is fatal to 
the poults. 

In the late fall and winter lice are hard on turkeys 
• — they cannot find g-ood dust baths as they can in sum- 
mer, hence it is necessary to use our best efforts to kill 



is scattered than when it is given to them in pans. 1 
have long- since discarded feeding troughs in my poul- 
try yards. They were a disadvantage to both old and 
young-. In mj' opinion much of the so-called cholera' is 
traceable to the feeding- trough. Turkeys especially are 
naturally inclined to take a small quantity of food at a 
time and when fed in troughs they will till their crops 
and do not take enough exercise to cause good digestion. 
For fattening I prefer corn to anything else, un- 
less it be crushed corn. Feed whole corn on the ear 
or scatlcr it in straw so tliev must work to get it. 




A Group of Huiitiariaii Turkeys 



the vermin on them, for they cannot thrive with vermin 
sapping their strength. 

PREPARING TURKEYS FOR MARKET 

Many persons wish to know when to begin to pre- 
pare turkeys for market. The best time to begin is 
when they are hatched and keep up the i^reparation 
until they are put on the market. If you live on a grain 
O]- stock farm let your turkeys have free access to the 
feeding stalls and grain shocks and they will take care 
of themselves. If you, like myself, are limited to a small 
place, the feeding must be kept up all the year. It will 
not do to increase the food too rapidly at first. During- 
the summer feed adult turkeys only once a day, but 
about September I begin feeding them twice a day, 
morning and evening, all that they will eat, or rather, 
as I keep the parent stock in the pens, my plan has 
been to scatter the food in the morning so that they 
shall be kept busy all day huyting- for it. At night I 
give a full feed where they can get it without any 
trouble, and gradually inci-ease the quantity of food as 
the cold weather approaches. I find that both old and 
young turkeys thri\e better and eat more ^vhen the food 



If you have never noticed the necessity of lime for 
turkeys watch them pick whitewash off the sides of 
houses. Make this difference in the treatment of those 
intended for market and those kept to breed from: Put 
all the food before the market fowl it will eat; make it 
as fat as possible — but if you get your lu-eeding stock 
too fat, infertile eggs will be the result. 

Be sure you do not wait until the day before 
Thanksgiving- to try to sell your stock. The highest 
prices are usually obtainable the week before the holi- 
day feasts. As a rule there is a great rush to market 
with turkeys two days before Thanksgiving. The rush 
often causes the price to drop just when the most was 
expected. I have known the highest prices to be ob- 
tained between Thanksgiving and Christmas and in Feb- 
ruary. Of course the locality has -something to do with 
the price, and there may, in the same locality, be differ- 
ent inflnences at different seasons. We have to do as 
our husbands do with their stock, watch and sell at the 
most propitious time. If I had only a few I would sell 
all al once, but if I rai.sed from seventy-five to a hun- 
dred I should sell at different times. One can sell the 
oldest first, thus giving the younger ones a chance. Mar- 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND ^lANAGEMENT. 



55 



ket birils can nut be too fat, but they may be too heavy 
for the highest prices. A few farmers in onr county un- 
derstand this, and do not buy the larg-est toms to breed 
from; others run to the other exti-eme, inbreeding and 
buying- culls until their turkeys are too small to be 
profitable. I .slioulil prefer large breeding- stock to 
small, even i^ I sold on the market, for if I get a lower 
price the difference in pounds would mure than make 
the difference in price. 

How much ought young toms to weigh at Thanks- 
giving, is a question often asked me. That depends on 
when they were hatched. An early hatched, say one 
hatched in May, will weigh from twenty to twenty-four 
pounds, and some few will go higher. One market poul- 
tryman says , that an average of eighteen and twenty 
I)ounds is the rule, while those going above that are the 
exception. 

1 have been asked if I tliink it better to dress 
turkeys or sell them on foot; "which is the most profit- 
able?" The answer to this (as most answers are) is de- 
)>endent. I have a friend who dresses her turkeys about 
the middle of February for the St. Louis market. She 
says she makes money by so doing. I know others who 
say it does not pay them at all. 

The cause of the difference of opinion lies in the dif- 
ference of surroundings. The lady who says it pays 
her to dress her turkeys for market does the work her- 
self and says sl\e makes fair wages at the difference in 
the price between dressed turkeys and turkeys on foot. 
Wj' opinion is that the average farmer's wife had better 
sell her turkeys on foot, but this is a question upon 
which there is a difference of opinion and one which each 
one must decide for herself. 

I never sold a dressed turkey, yet I know how farm- 
ers' wi\ es dress them for our market, and I dress them 
for my own table the same way. We cut the heads off and 
let them lileed well and then dry pick therri and remove 
their entrails, washing them thoroughly with cold or 
hike warm water. Plump the carcass by pouring boil- 
ing water over it, then .salt and let it freeze before cook- 
ing, if possilde. Very few salt them to put them on the 
market. 

Talk about turkeys eating their heads oif; If a man 
sells hogs at five cents a pound he thinks he is doing a 
fine business, says he is getting- fifty cents a bushel for 
liis corn, but when a woman sells her turkeys even at 
eight cents a jjound she is doing far better and is doing 
her husband a double favor; it is a favor to him for her 
to pay her own and part of his bills; besides she gets 
eight cents a pound for grasshojipers, which but for her 
turkeys would destroy the corn fodder and injure the 
hay as well as ruin the cabbage. 

PREPARING TURKEYS FOR EXHIIUTION 
This one thing I never lose sight of or forget — the 
show room. Xot alone for the scores I wish to receive 
on my birds, but on account of the remembrance of what 
I gain at the shows in point of knowledge and the pleas- 
ure I derive from association witli the many noble men 
and women to be met there. 

Many timid ones are deterred from entering the 
show room because -they dread coming in competition 
with the moguls of the poultry business. To such I say, 
come! You have nothing- to lose by the compai-ison and 
you maj' be a winner of the prizes. At any rate you will 
kiiow what the judges think of your birds, and will leai-u 
how to improve your stock. The show room is an educa- 
tor and we need all the education we can get if we in 
tend to stay in the business. Nor does it follow that 
because they fail to win a prize your stock is poor. Y'ou 



will Icurn what it takes to make a prize bird and what 
constitutes a good breeding bird. Attend a poulti-y show 
or two each year if it is possible for you to do so. 

On large farms it is not necessarj' to begin heavy 
feeding- until the weather begins to get cool. But where 
(jue has limited room they must be fed the year round. 
Do not select show birds until they are through molting, 
if old birds .are exhibited. A breeder of thoroughbred 
turkeys, for sale as fancy stock, must feed his entire 
flock \vith an aim to getting them in condition for winter 
fjhows either in his own hands or in the hands of his 
customers. 

Generally cocks may be depended on molting true to 
the marking of the cockerel, but hens often are not as 
good in markings as they were as pullets. Still, I think 
turkeys are more regular in their markings after molt- 
ing than chickens. 

If a turkey is in a healthy condition the feathers will 
be glossy, if not, they will not be. 

I think that to i^eep turkeys healthy and gentle and 
well fed is about all the preparation turkeys need. It 
will not do to put them in confinement longer than ten 
days, and then it will not do to have them in a strange 
])lace, as they will not eat. Give them all the corn, grit 
and lime they will eat, with plenty of grass and water, 
and they will fatten. 

How do 1 manage to feed my turkeys to get them in 
weight for the shows and not get the entire flock too 
fat? I keep only a few turkeys on my home place at one 
time, not more than fifty to seventy-five in winter and 
only my breeding stock in summer. .Vs I am continually 
shipping- them I select the best in size and that leaves 
the smaller ones a better chance to grow. I cannot sep- 
arate those intended for the show room from the others, 
so I feed all alike and take the heaviest to the show, no 
matter if they are not .so well marked as the others, for 
it is the heavy turkey which wins in the show room. In 
fact, I have on-ly a few times taken my best marked tur- 
keys to a show. 

I have had very few persons come to my jards who 
knew how to catch a turkey or chicken. I can pick my 
turkejs oi- chickens up anywhere in the yard with the 
assistance of one whom I have (rained. In the first place 
I am very gentle with my fowls. I talk to them when 1 
feed them. \^ou may wonder what I say. Well, I find 
they are lil'e'l.'ie human race, susceptible to flattery, if 
flattery it inay be called; I do not intend it as such, for 
I mean everj word of it. I call them pretty things — tell 
thera they are the prettiest turkeys anj-where around — 
talk to them about going- to the shows, and tell them 
how tliej- must behave to appear well; in fact, I am 
never at a loss for something to say to mj- fowls. When 
I want to catch one I prefer to go out in the .yard, look 
the flock o\er while thej' are out, select the one I want, 
■--all my assistant, and point out the turkey. Then X 
begin to feed and usually I can catch the one I desire 
while they are eating. Xever rush into the flock or shoo 
a turkey. Very quietly step up behind it and catch it by 
the legs. Be .sure to take hold of both legs as you catch 
one, then you can easily pick the bird up and it will not 
flaij its wings and hurt itself. If there are several to 
catch and you do not wish to put them in different coops 
it is better to catch all you need before cooping any. A 
child can hold a forty pound tom if he knows how. Just 
laj- him flat on his side or breast and hold his legs close 
to the thighs and he will not attempt to get away. I 
have often released one after holding it in this manner, 
and it would lie still fur one or two minutes before get- 
ting i.p. 



56 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



PACKING EGGS FOR SIlIl'PINt; 
It may sound egotistical, but I believe I can pack 
eggs that will go around the globe without breaking, 
that is, with reasonable handling; yet last year the only 
chick eggs reported broken did not go two hundred 
miles, and had they not been sent to a relative as a pres- 
ent I presume I should have heard about them with no 




Standard Bred Bronze 
Turkey wing as bred bv 
Mrs. U. R. Fishel. 



uncertain sound. They evidently had been pitched ofE 
the car as baggage and crushed under some heavy body. 
First line the basket with paper, then put in an inch 
of hay chaff in bottom if it is a large basket and many 
eggs are to go in; if it is only a peck basket, three- 
fourths or a half of an inch will be sufficient, but it 
must have a soft padding at bottom. Re-line with a 
good heavy paper. Wrap each egg with paper, but do not 
wrap too tight; use plenty of paper and do it nicely. I 
always pack with the small end down, because the white 
is in the small end and the yolk will not break if allowed 
to float upon it, while if the large end is down there is 
nothing to prevent the yolk breaking from the jar of the 
travel. Of course if the yolk is broken tKe egg cannot 
hatch. 

Diseases of Turkeys 

CANKER 

I receive a great many questions as to what to do 
for sick poults. I am a poor doctor for little turkeys. I 
really believe that where the parent stock is not related 
or inbred that it is poor management where there are 
sick poults. 

Canker is more prevalent than many persons sup- 
pose, and while often a fowl may die before it is discov- 
ered, the rule is it becomes droopy and refuses to eat. 
The discharges become yellowish green, sometimes look- 
ing like the yellow of an egg. The canker extends often 
to the throat and frequently forms on the tongue at the 
opening of the wind pipe and stops the air passages. 

To cure canker I have found Mustang Liniment bet- 
ter than anything else I have ever used. If this cannot 
be obtained, wash in a strong copperas water and grease 
with carbolated vaseline, in which put a few drops of 
tincture of iodine. This is an effectual cure, but it 
takes longer treatment and is more trouble. But the 
fowl, turkey or chicken will need a tonic to correct the 



digestion and tone the system. I give a liver pill, any 
that I would use for a person. Give this at night and 
a two-grain quinine capsule in the morning. A little cop- 
peras and extract of logwood in the drinking water usu- 
ally cure the trouble. Use whatever poultry tonic or 
cholera cure you may deem best mixed in food. Make 
into long rolls and put down the throat, then give the 
water from a bottle. I also put grit in food. Feed only 
once a day while the food must be given, but when the 
turkey can pick food, give twice a day and separate from 
other fowls. If I use Mustang Liniment I put a few 
drops down the throat, for I think often the canker ex- 
tends through the system. 

If I am sure there is no canker I omit the treatment 
for that and give the other treatment. Do not let the 
fowl have anything to eat or drink which is not medi- 
cated until you know it is well. The quinine capsule may 
be given every morning for a week, the liver pill every 
other day until three are given. 

I have never lost a turkey under the foregoing treat- 
ment when I have been able to give it regularly. And 
several customers have reported that under my direc- 
tions they have saved their turkeys. 

GAPES 

To prevent the disease 1 use a little turpentine in 
the drinking water. A dash of flowers of sulphur in the 
food once a week will be beneficial until they are well 
feathered. Copperas in the drinking water and onions 
in the food will generally prevent gapes. Turkeys having 
vermin are more likely to be affected. I have been ad- 
vised to use sour cream instead of lard to grease young 
turkeys. 

If 1 find the poults have gapes I put Dalmation or 
Persian insect powder in the food and have no further 
trouble. I sprinkle the powder into the food just as I would 
pepper. I have cured several chicks of the gapes by first 
jjuffing the powder in the wind pipe. This kills the 
worms, and I extract them with a gape extractor made 
of a piece of soft grass. If the worms are taken out the 
chicken will recover unless it is injured by the operation. 
They are easier to take out dead than alive and I find 
the powder good, but one has to be careful not to get too 
much in the wind pipe or the poult or chick vrill not be 
able to breathe. 

AIR PUFF 

One night I noticed that the neck of one of my j'oung 
turkeys was so badly swollen it could not g'Ct its mouth 
to the ground to eat. I picked it up and found its whole 
body in the same condition. The skin only seemed 
puffed. I took a i^air of sharp scissors and clipped the 
skin in several places. The air escaped and the turkey 
began to chirp. I put it with the others and it ate 
heartily. I put a teaspoonful of coal oil in the drinking 
water vsatli a few drops of carbolic acid. 

The next morning I noticed its wings drooping down 
and it was as badly puffed as before. I repeated the clip- 
ping and this time I clipped around the neck; I went 
deeper than 1 intended and the neck began to bleed 
freely. I felt that this would kill it, but I knew it would 
die anyway if not relieved, so I did not grieve. I took a 
feather and dipped it in tar and covered the bleeding 
wound, then 1 greased it with pure lard. My husband 
said: "You have killed that turkey." I replied: "Yes, I 
think I have, but I was trying to save it." To my aston- 
ishment it came up that night as lively as any of the 
others. I cut both wings and in the morning I showed it 
to my husband. We were both surprised. Ten days after 
it was as strong to all appearances as any of the others 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



57 



ami it never pufEed afterward. 1 concluded the bleeding 
was good for it, yet I %vould not know just how to advise 
it to be done, as 1 did that by accident. 

BUMBLEFOOT 

Buniblefoot is a hard place on the bottom of the foot 
which often becomes very sore and contains pxis. It is 
claimed that it is nsually caused by the fowls roosUng 
high and coming down on the ground with such force 
as to bruise the foot. I am inclined to favor this theory, 
though some high in authority deny it. At any rate, 
turkeys and chickens are often found with feet in this 
condition. I wait until the sore becomes soft, open it 
with a sharp knife and squeeze it until all the pus and 
the core, if I can get it, run out. If the core does not 
come out it will run out iu a few days if the foot is 
bound up with a good salve. 

I find one of the best salves I ever used to be vase- 
line, turpentine, a few drops of crude carbolic acid and 
tincture of iodine. I cannot give the proportions because 
I do not measure or drop by count. I generally make 
about a teacup full in the fall or early winter and it lasts 
me all season. A friend told me that resin would add to 
its merits. I put the ingredients all on the stove and mix 
them together and the next time I make this salve 1 
think I shall add the resin. 

Salve is also good for sore head, but it is better to 
■wash the head with copperas water before using the 
salve. If you can afford to buy Mexican Mustang Lini- 
ment it is even better than salve, but one often does not 
have the liniment at hand and can make the salve. 

BOWEL TROUBLE 

The coops in which the poults roost must have plenty 
of fresh air as well as be rat proof.' If the weather is 
cold and damp they must be kept in pens, so they can be 
hovered by the hen If she is at liberty she is liable tn 
walk around in the weeds or grass and the poults will 
<:hill and become loose in the bowels. And they gener- 
ally die when this disease is caused by the above treat- 
ment. However, if they are not too much chilled, pen 
them up, make a very weak pepper tea and give this for 
drinking water. Sweet milk is a good remedy for bowel 
trouble with poults. 

If you do not overfeed your young birds nor give 
them too much water while young, and do not let them 
get wet and chilled, thereby contracting cold, they will 
not have bowel trouble. They are not so apt to drink too 
much where they can run at large as they are when kept 
in confinement. When running at large I keep water 
where they can have access to it, but when penned up I 
g'ive them a drink only three times a daj'. 

Do not let the poults get wet. I am trying to plan a 
way to have them roost on a dirt floor, yet not on damp 
earth. I think the dampness of the ground gives them 
rheumatism, or makes them delicate, but the Jien mashes 
the poults on a plank floor. I think if the dirt can be 
thrown up aroimd the coop, so as to keep the ground dry, 
it will be better. 

Where milk curd, seasoned with black pepper and 
salt, is fed for the first ten days, there will be no danger 
of loose bowels, provided other health precautions are 
observed. Lice will cause bowel trouble, as will too much 
heat. When caused by heat give a teaspoonful of carbolic 
acid in a gallon of water. 

Keep the drinldng fountains clean and fresh. This 
can be done by washing them out with carbolized water. 

Logwood is excellent for loose bowels, I have used 
and recommended it for years. There is no danger of 
using too much and there is nothing better for ordinary 



bowel trouble either in chicks, poults or grown fowls. It 
comes by the pound in boxes and sells here at ten cents 
per pound. I put a lump of it in a glass fruit jar, using 
as large a lump as I can get into the jar and pour warm 
(not hot) water over it. Every morning I put just enough 
of this into the drinking water to color it and it keeps 
the bowels in a healthy condition. If fowls are sick I use 
it stronger. 

Overfeeding produces indigestion and indigestion 
causes bowel trouble. Vermin and overfeeding kill more 
poults than all other causes. Lice will produce all the 
symptoms of disease. When a poult dies from overfeed- 
ing a post mortem will usually disclose the liver swollen 
and probably splotched. When it is in this condition 
there is no chance for the poult. If taken in time a rad- 
ical change of diet will effect a cure. 

HOT MASHES 
A lady in Maryland writes: "I can't agree with you 
that hot mashes cause roup, for in my native home (Can- 
ada) I fed my turkeys hot mashes from the time they 
were a few weeks old until they were grown, and so did 
my neighbors, and we rinsed large flocks and were never 
troubled with roup. Here I have not fed the mash and 
have the roup." Koosting in trees may be the cause of 
roup in her flocks now, as she says they never had it 
when roosting under shelter. I agree with her that in 
extreme climates a shelter is better. She also gives me 
a preventative for fighting- which I certainly shall use. I 




A'Fine'Mammoth'jBronze Turkev Tom from the Yards of 
Mrs. U. R. Fishel, 

give it to the readers of this book: Tie a small bell 
around the neck of toms showing a disposition to fight. 
The noise attracts their attention so they forget to fight. 

CROP BOUND 

In the early spring the trouble most to be dreaded 
with turkeys is crop bound, caused from eating dry 
grass. No one can prevent this unless thej' have green 



58 



rL'R KEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



fields or g-rain for them to run in, rye or wheat fields. 
E\'en then sometimes they will fill their crops with the 
dry grass, which forms a hard ball in the crop and unles;^ 
it can be made to pass, it will Icill the fowl. Sometimes 
it will pass out after awhile withovit any ti-eatment. 
Some recommend cutting- the crop, taking- the substance 
out and sewing- up the crop, and they say it never fails 
to cure. This may be true with experts at the business, 
but with me it is a total failure. I tried it and thoug-ht 
it was a success, but several weeks afterward I discov- 
ered that the crops had never grown together where 
they were cut open and the thread rotted out, so they 
died. I have lost some of the finest turkeys I ever o^vned 
from this trouble and have cured others seeming-ly as 
bad off. 

I have not found an infallible cure and the most ef- 
fectual cure I have found is \erj- tedious. I give the tur- 
key a dose of castor oil or Epsom salts as soon as I find 
it has the trouble. I hold it and pour all the water into 
the crop I think it safe to g-ive and I also pxit a table- 
spoonful of mica crystal grit in some soft food, make it 
in long rolls and put down the throat. Turkeys are 
easily choked and unless the food is made in long-, slender 
rolls they are liable to choke. The reason I put the grit 
in the food is that it is liable to go down the wind pipe 
if poured into the mouth alone. Then I very gently get 
hold of the ball in the crop from the outside and work it 
with both hands, having someone else hold the turkey. I 
can generally soften the ball very perceptibly the first 
time I treat the tui'key. The grit in the food gets into 
the softened parts and helps divide the ball, the oil takes 
all that it is possible to get out of the crop, out of the 
system so that it does not clog in the gizzard, as it is 
liable to do if not worked off immediatelj-. The working- 
must be very gently done, as it bruises the crop. I repeat 
this process every morning at first and give plenty of 
soft food and grit during the day. 

If 1 discover, as is often the case, that the turkey is 
getting weak, I give a two-grain caiisule of quinine every 
morning. This increases the appetite and gives strength 
to the bird. I give plenty of onions in the food. The 
treatment must be kept up until all the ball has entirely 
passed o\it of the system. I do not give the oil more 
than once a week after the first few days. 

One of the best toms I ever owned, a fuil brother to 
"Champ Clark," who scored from 97 to 98 bj' every judge 
who saw him. was crop bound, and as I had sold "Champ 
Clark" I was anxious to save the brother, which I con- 
.sidered just as good. 1 thought he was entirely cured, 
and he was to all appearances well. He had gained flesh 
and was as hearty as any bird on the place. I fed him at 
night and noticed how well he looked. The next morning 
I found him dead under Xhe roost. He weighed fortj- 
jjounds and of course looked finer after death than I had 
considered him in life. My onlj" consolation was that he 
had waited until after the breeding- season was almost 
over before he died. 

On examination 1 found that a ball (not a very large 
one, either) of dried grass had lodged in the vent, which 
jn-evented anything from passing-, and this caused his 
death. He had been from under treatment about two 
months and 1 believed if I had continued the oil once a 
week he would have lived. 

Once I noticed a turkey with the same symptoms, 
but all my treatment availed nothing and he died. I ex- 
amined him and found the gizzard packed with dry grass 
and so nothing could have saved him. 

"Aly turkeys are affected with what I call pendant 
crop. The crop hangs down like a bag, sometimes low 



enouyh 1o interfere with walking and is filled with <lark 
lii|ui(l. The 1urke\s eat, but are pale about tlie head. 
What shall I do for them?" 

Give them a teaspoonful of l)aking powder; soda mil 
not do. This is a dose for one old turkey. I do not find 
the baking- powder an infallible cure, but it is the best 
thing I have tried. Two doses usually care. Keep the 
turkey inclosed and do not feed until the powder has 
been in the crop an hour or two: then give soft food, 
wheat bread made into long rolls, and put down the 
throat. The roll must not be very large. Do not give 
any water until the liquid has passed oiit of the crop. A 
little salt mixed in the food will assist in carrying the im- 
purities out of the system. Epsom salts are better than 
oil for crop-bound fowls. You will have to be very care- 
ful to keep water from them until they have entirely re- 
covered, or the crop will refill and the second attack is 
always worse or more stubborn than the first. It is very 
unusual for this trouble to arise in summer. It is prev- 
alent during the latter part of winter and early spring. 
(HOLER.V 

The cry of cholera ajuong turkeys comes to me from 
many persons, and these are not confined to a g^ven lo- 
cality or state. From Mississippi, Wisconsin, Pennsyl- 
vania. Iowa and many other states I have received let- 
ters reporting cholera among turkeys and often they say 
there are no symptoms of the trouble among the chick- 
ens. The fact that the turkeys linger for days and some- 
times even weeks is one reason for believing it is not 
cholera. Another is that in many instances the chickens 
and turkeys are in the same yard and the chickens are 
not affected; then, again, about the only sjmptom com- 
mon to all inquiries is that the droppings are a yellowish 
green. Some describe the heads as black, saying thej- 
mope around and will not eat. Others say the head is 
red to the last and they eat up to a few minutes before 
they are seized with an attack like convulsions, and still 
others say they have pufTs under the eyes, while another 
flock has a white substance floating over the eye. 

It is a tact that almost any disease of a turkey will 
cause the droppings to become yellowish green, showing- 
that disease in turkeys, like di.sease in the human family, 
sooner or later affects the digestive organs. 

Often indigestion is the cause of the trouble. I am 
not quite positively certain that I ever had a genuine case 
of cholera in my yards, though I well remember when I 
thought every chicken or turkey that died had it. 

I have been informed by one of the R. P. J. cor- 
respondents that there is a much larger per cent of 
deaths from what is known as black head than from 
cholera, and that it is infectious. He says that what has 
often been pronounced cholera is black head. He also in- 
forms me there is absolutely no remedy for it which can 
be relied upon to be even comparatively a cure, and that 
the cause is unknown. This he wrote me some time 
since. He said that Lee's Germozone is the best 
remedy known to him. I had some experience with the 
trouble in the flock of a neighbor, and I decided it was 
caused from overfeeding while j-o\ing, and then turning 
them out without any food; at least I found when I ex- 
amined after death that the liver was perfectly soft and 
the g-izzard twice the size it should have been. 

I find many persons use a great deal of red or 
cayenne pepper and soda in turkej' food. Because I had 
been taught to do this I did like my neighbors when I 
commenced raising turkejs. but I soon began to use my 
i-ommon sense and I wondered how on earth anything 
could live, especially a wee bit of a turkey -with the crop- 
filled with pepper, soda, sulphur, copperas, also custard. 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



59 



milk c-urd anil many other things I was (dlil 1 would 
have to feed to be successful. 1 said: "I shall try a way 
of my own," and whenever I have had the sense to do my 
own way 1 have succeeded in keeping- my flock healthy. 

Ked pepper is a good tonic for chickens in cold 
weather if given in minute quantities. 

I find carbolic acid in drinking- water, a teaspoonful 
to a gallon ox water, is one of the best things to keep 
their bowels in good condition I have ever tried. Epsom 
salts antl .salt, a teaspoonful of each to a gallon of 
water, is also good. Too much salt will throw a txirkey 
into fits, so will too much tobacco, but they will recover 
from the toViacco dust as soon as they get the fre.sh air, 
while from salt taken into the system they do not re- 
cover. 

Whenever tiie droppings look yellowish I use my 
Cholera Cure — not that I believe they have cholera, but 
the droi)])ings indicate indigestion. 

RHEUMATISM 

Several letters have come in, asking what to do for 
lameness in little turkeys, describing the poults as being 
affected with swollen joints. I think this trouble arises 
from dampness. Either the poults roost in damp places 
or exceedingly wet weather has been conducive to the 
disease. The trouble is doubtless rheumatism and the 
best remedy I know is elder bark prepared as fol- 
lows: Get the bark and scrape ofE the outside skin, cut 
in small iiieces and put in apple vinegar. It does not 
matter how much bark you p\it in, but the stronger it is 
the better. Put in a half gallon fruit jar and add a piece 
of alum as large as a walnut and the same amount of 
copperas. Put all the bark in the jar you can get in, 
pouring the vinegar over it. Pvit enough of this liquid 
iu the drinking water to make it taste of acid, but not 
enough to be unpleasant to the taste. I am sure this -will 
prevent the tnmble if it does not cure it, and I think it 
will cure it, provided the poults are kept free from 
dampness. I should use ilustang also or any good lini- 
ment that I would use for myself. A little tincture of 
iodine in the drinking water is good as a tonic. 

I should 'feed either a little black or red pepper in 
the food for several days. In that time if I found I 
could not cure the fowl I would kill it, but if it were get- 
ting better 1 should continue the treatment. 

Once I noticed one of my poitlts could not walk, one 
leg seemed to be perfectly straight and the poult held it 
so that it appeared to be behind it. I ti'ied to bend it 
and it seemed stiif in the joints. But I bent it several 
times a day for four days when it was able to walk on 
both feet. 

ROUP CANKER-SWELLED EYES AND HEAD 
I have cured several cases of so-called roup in the fol- 
lo^ving manner. I 1 made a Strong salt water just as hot 
as I could bear my hand in comfortably' and dipped the 
turkey's head in it, completely immersing the head. I 
use an old tin can for this purpose. I let the head stay 
in the water as long- as I thought it safe for the turkey. 
I then take it out and give it fresh air, press the nostrils 
between my thumb and forefinger. If there is any se- 
cretion, this will start a running at the nose. I open the 
mouth and insert a mop made by wrapjnng a soft cloth 
on a small stick, into the opening in the roof of the 
mouth, dipping it first into salt water; then I dip in coal 
oil. I make a salve of carbolic acid, a few drops of lard, 
spirits of camphor, a tea-spoonful, a teaspoonful of tinc- 
ture of iodine and anoint the eyes, head and fill the nos- 
trils and opening in roof of mouth. With a clean cloth I 
willed the head as dry as possible, (I tried not wiping 



rhe head and foinicl it uuide the turkey too cold) then I 
rubbed it hard until it was dry. Put a little salt and 
Ki5som salts in the drinking water. This will almost in- 
variably cui-e the roup in its first stages. If a turkey has 
arrived at an advanced stage of roup before it is noticed 
I would kill it as the only sure cure. 

For rattling in the throat I find nothing better than 
coal oil with a little molasses in it. 

Sometimes canker is caused bj- fighting. I had a torn, 
for which I had paid $10, that got to fighting and had 
canker on the side of his mouth, caused by the bite of the 
other tom. All I did for him was to paint his mouth 
with iodine. He was a vigorous, healthy bird and pro- 
duced strong poults. I also advise the \ise of Mexican 
Mustang Liniment, used according to directions. 

Sometimes turkeys have a soft, swelled place under 
the eyes. The first thing is to put them by themselves. 
With the finger press the soft swelling, letting the pres- 
sure go towarils the bill. The phlegm will go out at the 
nose in most cases. Take a sewing machine oil can and 
fill with warm water, into which a few drops of tincture 
of iodine have been dropped; if the water is almost hot 
it will be all the better. After washing the head in 
strong salt water as hot as can be borne, inject the 
water from the can into the nostrils and the opening in 
the roof of the mouth. Make a salve of lard, turpen- 
tine, crude carbolic acid, copperas melted in the lard and 
flowers of sulphur. .Vnoint with this. If this is done 
once a day for a week the turkey will be well unless it is 
incurable. If there is pus, an incision made with a 
sharp knife to let the pus o\it will be necessary. But the 
bird will need something to cleanse the system, and 
Cushman's Roup Cure will be very fine. 

However, the trouble is likely to return if you turn 
the turkey out in the cold. If it is worth the trouble it 
it better to keep it in the house until cold weather is 
over. Feed onions, soft food, corn and plenty of grit. 1 
find Littell's liquid sulphur will do for flowers of .sulphur 
in almost every case where flowers of sulphur is needed. 
I think simple remedies will cure almost any trouble it 
taken in time. Do not fail to give onions once a week 
during the fall and throughout the winter. They are a 
safeguard against roup and any diseases caused by cold. 

For canker sores try putting a little alum in the 
drinking- water one day and copperas the next. 

WORMS 

"My turkeys are dying fast and I found worms in the 
droppings. What must I do for them?" 

If the entire flock is sick, give turpentine in drinking 
water and in the food — a tablespoonful of turpentine to 
a gallon of water and a teaspoonful to a quart of food; 
also add a tablespoonful of Epsom salts to a gallon of 
water. Give both the turpentine and salts at the same 
time. If only one turkey is thus affected I would catch 
it and give it a teaspoonful of castor oil, into which put 
five or sis drops of turpentine; then feed as a tonic 
cholera cure. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

I quote from an old number of the E. P. J. from an 
article on "Turkeys as Hatchers": 

"When I first read in an English poultry book of the 
French method of using turkeys to hatch and care for 
chickens, I had no incubator and concluded to try the 
plan. Late in the fall I sent out in the country and 
bought a late hatched hen turkey for very little money. 
In February we prepared a box (with plenty of chaff over 
a layer of horse manui-e) that could be shut up to ex- 
clude the light. Did not give either wine or whiskey, but 



60 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



in two or three weeks she was sitting quietly on the 
china eg-g-s and when taken ofE the nest to be fed would 
voluntarily return. I then filled the nest with hens' eggs, 
removing them as soon as they began to pip to keep the 
turkey from wanting to leave the nest and putting in 
other eggs. After sitting three months she was put in a 
yard with chickens for the rest of the summer. We put 
chickens of different ages with her and she received them 
all with equal kindness. 

"This year we have two turkeys besides an incubator, 
and after hatching three sittings of eggs we thought best 
to take them off the nest, but one watched her chance 
and went back on the nest till I filled it with eggs 
again, so I let her stay. The other is laying and will be 
ready for work later if needed. 

"They make careful, patient mothers, are equal in 
that lespect to any hen, and it is a wonder that farmers 
do not make more use of them than they do. 

C. H. A." 
FARMING OUT TURKEYS 

I am often asked if I find it satisfactory to farm out 
my turkeys. It is perfectly satisfactory, because I have 
no one to raise turkeys for me who is not in all respects 
reliable; besides they hatch them earlier than I can, as 
the twenty-five or thirty hens kept at home do not lay 
eggs any faster than I have calls for them from the time 
they begin laj'ing until the first of June. I have young 
turkeys now out on the farms that one has to look at 



the second time to be sure whether they are hens or 
young turkeys. Farm-bred turkeys do not get very fat, 
consequently do not weigh as heavy when I take them as 
I would make them weigh to please those who demand 
the pounds of flesh, but the frame is there. Be sure yo\i 
know with whom you are placing your stock and you 
will have no difficulty. 

Each season teaches us some lesson that is profitable 
to us for the next. I have learned to take only one flock 
of hens and pullets and another of toms on the place at 
one time. When two or more flocks are brought in at the 
same tipie they fight so they will not eat and do not fat- 
ten. I find it better to pay board for a few flocks on 
the farms than to bring them together on the home place. 
I could not raise all my stock at home and furnish pairs 
and trios not related, nor could I ship as I now do to the 
same customers every year and insure a change of blood. 

To those persons who have written me, asking if 1 
Ihink it will pay to raise turkeys, I can only say that I 
have never heard any one who has given it a fair trial say 
tliat it does not pay. Still I would not advise one to un- 
dertake to I'aise turkej's who is not vidlling or physically 
able to expose himself to all sorts of weather, both hot 
and cold. Turkeys must be kept dry while yoxmg and 
gotten hora.e early in the afternoon. 

How shall you succeed with turkeys? The best way 
to succeed is to keep on trying. If you fail this year, 
get more in eai-nest and try again next .vear. 




Across the A>^an(io 



Photo by F. L. Sewelt 



A flock of Black Turkeys and FaveroUes iu a quaint old French Barnyard. 
Many^who have supposed the turkey strictly an American Fowl will study with interest the above illustration and the one on page 54. 



THE METHOD OF A SUCCESSFUL BREEDER 

Introduce New Blood Each Year— Keep Poults Dry And Free From Lice— Feed Carefully— Do Not Crowd 

MRS. H. R. SCHLOTZHAUER 




|HE first lesson that should be learned by 
every turkey breeder is that it does not pay 
to inbreed. New blood niust be infused 
every year, otherwise the flock will lose 
strength, size and vigor and be more sub- 
ject to disease. We generally get our new 
blood by buying eggs from the breeder of 
the best stock we are able to locate. 

We have to pay one dollar per egg or ten dollars per 

dozen. In this manner we do not inbreed and we find that 

the vigor and size 

of our fiock is main- 
tained without 

trouble. We have 

had young t o m s 

that weighed forty 

lioimds when nine 

months old and 

pullets that weighed 

twenty-five pounds 

when the same age. 

BREEDERS 

We have fenced 
in our orchard and 
in this is kept our 
best breeding pen. 
which consists of a 
fine fifty pound, one 
year old torn and 
five nice, large, one 
year, old hens. By 
keeping them con- 
fined in this manner 
we are able to find 
every egg that they 
lay. 

Do not try to 
fatten turkeys dur 
ing hot weather. If 

they are on free range or in a good orchard where they 
can find plenty of nature's food, just feed them at night 
and let them forage during the day. In this manner they 
can be kept iu good breeding condition. 

hatchinct and feeding the poults 

It is much better to keeii the turkej's away from the 
other poulti\v. 

Just as soon as we get fifty eggs, we set them under 
one turkey hen and three chicken hens and as soon as 
we get forty more, we do as before. 

At this writing, June first, we have eighty nice, 
strong, little poults doing fine. The first hatch of forty- 
five we gave to one turkey hen which is confined in the 
orchard and through which she takes her brood from one 
end to the other. The second hatch is with another tur- 
key hen and is kept in the front yard. 

We have a rat proof house, 8x10. with a window for 
each brood. We keep them shut in until the dew is off 
the grass in the morning and on rainy days they are kept 
shut in all day. I dust them every week with a good in- 
sect powder. 

The little poults get their first feed when they are 



about thirty-six hours old. This feed consists of stale 
light bread, that has been soaked in sweet milk and 
mixed with a little lettuce or onion tops chopped fine and 
seasoned with a little pepper. 

After a week or so, they get some cottage cheese 
mixed with rolled oats. When they are about two weeks 
old, we mix in some clean wheat, gradually changing 
until they are getting all wheat. 

We put them on free range when they are about one 
month old, but see that they come up to the orchard 




MAMMOTH BRONZE TURKEYS ON THE FARM 

A flock of Mrs. U. R. Fishel's Mammoth Bronze Turkey gobblers on the farm in Indiana These big fellows weigli 
on an average thirly-five pounds each. As small as they are here the fine wmg barring can be seen. 



every night to roost. 

Good grit, oyster shell, charcoal and fresh water 
should not be forgotten as an important part of their 
ration. 

It is a pleasure to see them grow, and when Thanks- 
givinp, conies, we cannot help but feel proud of our tur- 
keys. 

We raise from fifty to one hundred each year and sell 
a good many for breeding purposes. We also sell quite a 
lot at market prices and consider that there is a good 
prof.t in raising turkeys for market. 

We send some of our best ones to the poultry shows 
and State fair each year. If one sends turkeys to a fair 
or show, they should be sent in cages or coops, about 
4x4, as the coops furnished by the show associations are 
not large enough, as a rule. 

When cold weather comes on it is safe to feed them 
a little heavier and if possible get them to standard 
weight and a little above. First get the frame and then 
you can put on the meat. 

We trust that our methods may be of benefit to some 
amateur and help him to success. 



THE POPULAR BRONZE TURKEY 



Improvement — As'oid Extremely Large Ones As Breeders — Selection of Breeders — Feeding — Varmints — Lice- 
Feeding Poults — Selling and Shipping 

EMMET F. PULLIN, Seore<ary— Treasurer, Nalional Bronv.e Turkey Cluh 




HE date of our first counection with the 
Bronze Turkey is lost in the haze of early 
recollection. We first began breeding- pure 
sti-ains of this breed in ]s9o. 

WONDERFI'L IMPllOVEMEXT 
There has l)een considerable ini- 
|irovenient in fancy points since then. 
Toms with bronze on their backs then, were re- 
markable, now we occasionally see pullets almost 
as rich in tliat section. We see l)etter tails and 
wings, less green antl brass, and more bronze in tail 
coverts. The white ti])s have also been considerably ina- 
])roved. Tn our ojiinion. the practical points have not 




Standard-Bred Bronze Turkey 
Win« 

This cut was made from a photograph of one 
of Mrs. U. R. Fishel's Bronze Turl;eys. the wing 
being spread to show the remarkable barring. 



been imjn-oved. As a market fowl the bronze turkey 
leaves nothing to be desired either in appearance or 
merit. , 

(JETTimi THEM TOO EARCE 
The one thing that has threatened to rob the breed 
of its \iniversal popularity has been the craze to increase 
its weiglit, ^vhich is already in excess of any other breed. 
Extra large toms often wound and sometimes kill out- 
right, females in the breeding season. Extra large hens 
produce a small percentage of eggs that will hatch. Ill- 
shaped, thin or soft shelled eggs are invariably the i)rod\ict 
of large, generally very large hens. Thus you see, nature 
would eliminate the overgrown. Thej- are not in favor in 
market circles, the final testing of the great majority. 
The young that survive from the extra large stock, require 



more tiuje to mature than the medium sized ones. The 
former are seldom ready for the Thanksgiving market, the 
mosi profitable time to sell, because thus far they have 
i-eipiired very little grain. From then on to Christmas 
market they must be fed liberally. Much more could be 
written under this heading', but we think the present will 
sutl'ice to show the folly of going to extremes. 

tSELECTINU THE UREEDERS 
As tlie future usefulness of the breed depends largely 
u)jori the specimens selected to reproduce their kind, the 
selection of lireeders is of vast importance. The first 
essential in a cockerel to head the llock, is vitality. This 
is indicated by a full breast, wide back at butts of wings 
and a good depth from back to point 
of l)reast bone. A willingness to dis- 
]3lay his bronze and vocal ability at a 
slight provocation are further evi- 
dence; avoid sluggards. Choose those 
Avith snap. Years of experience con 
'*'"f'p^ tli^ writer that the weight de- 
^ jjj^B^ L manded by the present Standard is 

^'W^m sufficient. Avoid extremes. 

The same general principles hold 
good in selecting pullets as in cock- 
erels. Choose those that are well de- 
veloped, having plump, well-roiuided 
bodies. If the aim of your selection 
is to produce prize winners as well as 
market fowls, the complication of 
your undertaking is increased many 
times. Success in this direction re- 
quires long experience, a study of 
the Standard, and some acquaintance 
with the laws of inheritance. If the 
theory that like produces like, were 
infallible, plain sailing would be as- 
sured, but it is not. There is a con- 
stant variation, otherwise there 
could be no improvement. The 
breeder with alnlity to properly 
value the importance of everj- sec- 
tion, has accomplished a fine art, but 
he who can take those that are of a 
high class and mate them so they 
will produce a large pei'centage of 
show birds, is several rounds higher up the ladder of tur- 
key fame. They will stand a limited amoiint of inbreeding 
w ith good results. Those that prove themselves remark- 
:ilile l)reeders and are not too large, are profitable to six 
or eight years old. 

KEEniXt: 
The tendency in the corn belt is to get breeders too 
fat. We think better results would follow if no corn at 
all were allowed. Wheat, oats, buckwheat, peas and the 
like, make good feed, which should be given rather spar- 
ingly. They must have gravel and oyster shell in the 
laying season. 

REMEDIES FOR TURKEY PESTS 
[n some localities crows are a great nuisance and 
their elusive smartness is hard to match. Our remedy is 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND .MANAGEMENT. 



63 



to take a few hen eg'gs, break a )iole in one end, take ont 
part of the contents, pnt in a small quantity of strych- 
nine or arsenic and stir well. Place where the turkeys 
are not liable to find them, or the wrong- birds maj- get 
the dose. 

A small handful of some good lice or insect powder 
should be put in the nest, or better yet, on the hen if that 
can be done witliont too much danger of breaking the 
eggs. For lice on the young \ve think the following- by 
far the best. 'J'akc a bottle and fill one-fourth full with 
fish berries, linish with alcohol and let si and twenty-four 
hours; apply with a small brush. A small ijuantity is 
sufficient and sure death to lii-e. 

CARl>"i; FOR THE I'ULLTS 

Provide a i)en or some grassy spot about SxlO feet, 2 
feet high, covered with ^\-ire netting for the brood. The 
first feed may be hard boiled eggs with onions chopped 
■fine. Another splendid feed is dried bread moistened in 
whole milk, squeezed almost dry; to either feed, some 
powdered charcoal should be added, which serves as grit 
and prevents sourness of the crop, the caxise of many 
deaths. Later, cracked wheat and other small grains 
snch as chickens thrive on may be used. Little care %vill 
be required through the summer season. It will not be 
out of place to offer them some grain in the evenings 
when they return from their foraging expedition. They 



I'id the fields of large quantities of weed seed and in- 
jurious insects. When the sujjply of these becomes short 
in autumn, nothing- is better than corn. 

SELLIXC AND SHIPPINd 

Our method is to sell on the market all stock which 
we think unworthy to be used as breeders. In shipping- 
breeders, we prefer to use nai-row boxes mthout cracks, 
except on top; the sides may be lined with paper to 
l^revent undue mussing of the wings. 

On long- journeys, a feed box and water vessel should 
be placed in the front end. In such crates, we have 
shipped to the Pacific coast, where turkeys arrived in 
splendid shape. We do not take auj- special pains to 
prepare specimens for shows. A long- pole supplied with 
a leg- hook is used in catching them. We have probably 
produced some of the largest toms of the breed, one 
weighing- fifty-two and one-half pounds, another weighing 
fifty-one and taking first in one of the large shows, where 
we refused a high price for him. However, we have 
learned a good many things about extra large turkeys 
since then. 

Other delicacies may have their day, but a Christmas 
without a Christmas tree or a Fourth of .Inly without ice 
cream would be no more lacking- than a Thanksgiving 
without turkey, when from the newsboy in the street to 
the President in the 'White House this is the most popular 
bird in the I'nited States. 



TURKEYS FOR PROFIT 



Turkeys in Demand — Varieties — Enclose the Breeders— Fencing — Mating and Housing — Overfeeding — Late Hatched Turkeys — Green 
Food for Growth— Freeing From Lice — Resuhs of Line Breeding — Supply Grit Observation 

and Care Necessary to Success 



MRS. CHARLES JONES 




UIIKEYS have been rai.sed longer than the 
memory of those now living can trace and 
still the business is in its infancy. People 
are realizing- each year that it is one of 
.the most profitable crops of poultry that 
can be raised on a farm from a mar- 
ket standpoint. From the fanciers' out- 
look they are making such great strides in size, weight 
and plumage, and command such high prices that they 
are doubly profitable. 

If the exhibits of Bronze turkeys at the Chicago 
show are any criterion, the business of raising- Bronze 
turkeys has reached a point that nearly eclij)ses all other 
departments of poxiltry rai-sing. When one yearling tom 
will bring $50 and a pair of young turkeys $75 it proves 
the value of the goods, and these were the prices asked 
and paid for some fine sjiecimens at Chicago not long- 
ago. Immediately breeders put up prices on eggs from 
50 cents to one dollar apiece. From these facts one can 
safely conclude that the Bronze turkey business is boom- 
ing, especially when the last year has seen more turkeys 
shipi^ed to foreign countries than were ever sent before. 
The turkey has been basely slandered and has been con- 
sidered to be about as. stupid as a mule. I have never had 
any experience in trying to teach a mule to keep his hind 
feet on the ground when his best friend stood behind 
him, but I have taught turkeys to resiiect my wishes 
and stay on one plantation. 

Seeing a four-horse load <>( tui-kcys going- to market 
gathered fi-cmi four farms. 1 said, '".Surely 1 must g-o and 



wake \ip Kip VaTi Winkle, so that He may see what the 
despised 'Old \Yoman's hen business' is now." When he 
went to slee]) about twelve hens and one rooster was the 
poultry equipment of a farm, and turkeys were wild in 
the forest. If perchance a hunter brought one down for 
Christmas or Thanksgiving- that was all the people of 
those days expected. 

The newsboys of Chicago were presented -with over 
two thoxisaud turkeys for one Thanksgiving feast, and 
I really do not know which to pity most, the turkeys or 
the newsboys. The [)oviltry business at Swift's poultry 
jiacking- houses in Chicago promises to equal, if not ex- 
ceed, the hog- i^acking- industry. 

As our population increases the great tract of land 
used for grazing- -will be taken u}) into farms and the 
great droves of cattle now raised on them -will be a 
thing of the past. Pork is not good for a steady diet, 
and the people will demand an immense number of tur- 
keys, chickens, ducks and geese to meet the deficit caused 
by the lack of cattle. 

WHITES. BLACK.S, BIJKFS AND REDS 

I am frequently asked how many varieties of turkeys 
we have bred. I have only i^red the old-fashioned scrub 
and the Bronze. I jjrefer the Bronze to any other variety I 
have ever seen, as it grows so very much larger, is so 
hardy and it is such a pleasure to have a flock of these 
brilliant beauties around. I think it is easy to get a 
good Bronze near to standard requirements in markings, 
brilliant plumage and weight, although there lias been 



64 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



added pouud after i)ound to the weig-ht clause, and one 
has got to get them almost as large as a calf to answer 
the requirements in weig-ht. I think the weight is too 
high, as a turkey will shrink from one to two pounds 
while en route to the show. 1 have had them weighed 
in the show room where they have shown a shrinkage of 
over three pounds. It is a settled fact that the Bronze 
turkey matures slower than other varieties, as they 
grow until four years old. I think the Black turkey 
comes next as a desirable turkey; they nearly equal the 
Bronze in size and beauty. I breed the Bronze now for 
size and beauty as well as for their popularity. There is 
a great demand for them. The White Holland comes 
next in popularity. They are liked by people who have 
small range, as they are what one may call a domestic 
turkey, not given to extensive wandering, and possess 
very little of the wild spirit. I am quite partial to white 
fowls, but on account of hardiness and great weight, as 
well as beautiful plumage, I prefer the Bronze. 

I once owned a trio of Black turkeys for a short 
time. In one of my orders for turkej's to go to Europe I 
had a call for a trio of Black turkeys and a trio of 
Buffs, and as I did not breed them I had to find some 
good enough to ship across the pond. I sent to a well 
known Ohio judge and he sent me a Black tom that had 
never been beaten in the show room, a pullet that took 
first premium at the Ohio State Fair, and another equally 
as good. Well, that trio was so dazzlingly beautiful that 
it almost shook my allegiance to the Bronze. If ever I 
should change my breed of turkeys it would be to take 
up the Black turkey. I also got a very fine trio of BuSs 
from a reliable breeder in our own state and those with 
the trio of the best of my Bronze birds made a shipment 
that any turkey breeder might be proud of. The honor 
did not all belong to me, however. 

MATINC; AND HOUSING 

I am in receipt of a very interesting' letter from a 
lady in Ohio in regard to the Bourbon Ee'd turkey. She 
has bred them only- one year. Her tom and hen were 
both young and to that she attributes the weakness of 
the poults, but as only one died a natural death it goes to 
show that they are quite hardy. They were very large 
when first hatched and very pretty. They are about as 
hardy as the Bronze when raised under similar con- 
ditions, and make beautiful birds when grown. They are 
marked something like a peafowl, are very quiet and not 
much inclined to wander and want to be left entirely 
alone to attend strictlj' to their own business. My cor- 
respondent thinks that for a market fowl a cross of the 
Bronze and the Bourbon Red would give good results. 

1 am often asked which is the best way to mate tur- 
keys — young toms with hens or old toms with pullets. I 
like an old torn, but sometimes one suffers a serious loss 
among the hens, resulting- from injury caused by a vig- 
orous male. I always make cots for the spurs the same 
as a finger cot, and wire them on the legs with a fine 
copper wire. If the spur is very sharp we saw the sharp 
point off and cut the toe nails very blunt. I find this an 
indispensable treatment if one expects to escape loss. 

A correspondent asks how many turkejs she ought 
to keep, and how many hens and toms she should buy to 
begin breeding on forty acres of land. She is building a 
house for them. I wrote and told her not to build a 
house for turkeys, an open shed is all they ever need. A 
high shed covered with prairie hay or anything that will 
keep out rain and sun. I think when the Ever Ruling 
Hand made turkeys He make the sky their covering. I 
really do like an open shed for rainy or stormy days and 



when the terrible blizzards sweep over the country, but 
you might as well try to chain the lightning or hold a 
cyclone in the hollow of your hand as to attempt to make 
turkeys break the laws of nature that made a roost on 
the topmost branch of the tree an ideal place for them to 
spend a cold night. While we cuddle down in a warm bed, 
they are taking a constitutional on the tree top, sway 
ing in the blast and they come down full of vigor and 
with an appetite that almost equals the ostrich. I never 
try to control them as to their quarters for the night 
unless we have a severe ice storm, or one of our terrible 
blizzards. The rest of the time they are left to "paddle 
their own canoe" at night. When the Creator put into 
turkeys the instinct to sleep in the open air He knew 
more about raising turkeys than I do. 

As to the number of birds my correspondent should 
begin with, I would imder no circumstances get more 
than ten hens and one tom. I started with three thor- 
oughbred hens and a tom, even though I had raised tur- 
keys for some years before this. I always advise in- 
quirers to begin upon a small scale in any branch of 
poultry raising-. One may work into the business and will 
not then lose the money invested, nor think the business is 
unprofitable. One turkey hen will lay two litters of eggs 
in a season, and this is all it is profitable to have her 
lay, for if she laid a third litter it would be too late to 
bother with them. She usually lays about thirty eggs in 
two litters, sometimes more, sometimes less. If this lady 
raises one hundred and fifty turkeys from ten hens she 
will be doing well, as the eggs will not all hatch and the 
poults will not all live. There are alwa3's some that are 
weak when first hatched. One hundred and fifty turkeys 
will be as many as should be kept on forty acres, for 
they are not like chickens, they must have range and 
must hunt for the larger portion of their food if it is de- 
sired to raise them to perfection in size, vigor and 
plumage, and of course it is. 

Turkeys raised on a large range are best to use as 
breeders, as they develop on nature's plan — bone, muscle 
and fi^ame. and that is what we want instead of heavy 
weights and small frames. Some people think weight is 
the criterion of excellence in turkeys. I wish I could take 
them out with me in my morning rambles and show 
them the points of excellence my birds are developing by 
roving around and picking up the food that nature con- 
tributes so lavishly for their benefit. The large, long 
legs and well proportioned bodies with the morning sxm 
glancing from their brilliant plumage make a sight worth 
seeing. Exercise and the right kind of diet go a long 
way towards making a perfect turkey. 

The Bronze turkey does not develop until four years 
old, and it stands to reason that a bird which develops 
slowlj' and healthily ^vill make a better breeder and pro- 
duce healthiei- and larger stock than those which are 
pushed to maturity, and which attain great weights 
.simply by over-feeding and lack of exercise. First se- 
cure good health and a large frame, then let nature put 
on weight at maturity. If this course were followed we 
would not hear so much about diseases and non-success 
in raising turkeys. They were created for a special pur- 
pose and intended to be healthy and when we undertake 
to run against nature there is war at once and we have 
to pay the penalty. 

YARDING AND TRAINING TURKEYS 

I raise turkeys and like the business and attribute 

much of my success to keeping my turkeys yarded 

through the breeding season. People generally think it 

a great expense to build a fence that will keep turkejs 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



65 



in, though I do not find it so. A three-foot woven wire 
fence -with barbed wire above to make the fence four or 
five feet high will keep them confined if the flight feath- 
ers of one wing are cut. I keep the young turkeys 
yarded in the same j ard until they are six weeks or two 
months old, which makes it convenient to protect the 
young poults from the wet and I can look them over once 
a week for lice, and never have to be hunting up my 
turkeys. 

People ask me if they are not hard to raise. I raise 
a larger per cent of those hatched than I do of chickens. 



is generally enough. I have had them caught that way 
and hang until dead. I use the breeding yards for the 
yoimg turkeys until they are large enough to drive out 
on the range, putting fifty in each yard. At six weeks or 
two months they are driven onto their summer range, 
driving them home at night until they have learned the 
trick of coming home to roost. There is considerable 
work getting them started to run out on the range and 
come home at night. If you allow them to run at large 
and stay out at night they will wander away to neigh- 
bors and sometimes go miles from home, but if they are 




A Pair of Mra. Chas. Jonea* Prize Winnin* Bronze Turkeys 



For the last two years I have raised over 95 per cent of 
all turkeys hatched. 

I have found that fifty turkeys in a yard or field are 
enovgh to do well. If you keep more than that together 
thev are apt to pile in together and smother after they 
are about a month old. When I get a flock of fifty I 
start another drove in another field. I set four or five 
turkey hens and at the same time give to domestic hens 
as many turkey eggs as I think the turkeys can take 
care of. If possible I set an incubator with chicken eggs. 
When they all hatch I give the turkeys all the poults and 
the domestic hens all the incubator chicks, and that 
makes business lively all around, and keeps me very busy. 

I raise from three different flocks of turkeys, ten 
hens and one tom, in each flock. We have from one acre 
to three acres fenced in with a three-foot wire netting, 
three-inch mesh, with barbed wire at the top, making the 
fence five feet high. Turkeys will never try to fly over 
a barbed vrire fence. They will crawl under if the wires 
are not close together, but they will never try to fly over 
it. If they ever attempt it they are almost sure to run a 
barb throxigh their foot and one experience of that kind 



driven home nightly for a week or two they will soon 
come home of their ovra accord, and then your work in 
the turkey yard is nearly over, as they can take care of 
themselves, only you must watch that they do not forget 
to come home. 

Turkeys like a large range as they grow older, but 
while young, one to three acres makes plenty of range. 
You will soon find out when they get dissatisfied vrith 
their quarters, as they vfiW crawl out or fly into your 
garden or yard, shovring that they are anxious to start 
on their foraging expeditions. If the hay and oats are 
cut so that they can get around without trampling things 
down, or finding too much to hide in, we turn them out. 

Turkeys can be made to go almost anywhere their 
owner wants them to by driving them to the farthest 
fields when they are first started out, but they must be 
brought home nights until they learn to come home. I 
bought a telescope to save steps and I find it a very great 
help, especially as I have to watch my turkeys on ac- 
count of the railroad track. In the early dry part of the 
season I had a great deal of trouble %vith my turkeys wan- 
dering so far that they could not get back at night. We 



66 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND ' MANAGEMENT. 



discovered that they invariably went where they found 
water last year, and v. e concluded it was water they were 
after, so we took larg'e dishes and put out where we 
wanted thorn to run, and then they only went about one- 
half mile away and stayed on our own place. Their going 
where they found water last year shows that turkeys 
have memories. I believe animals have much more in- 
telligence that we give them credit for. Only their lan- 
guage and way of giving expression to their wants is all 
Greek to us. 

To show how turkeys measui'e time our turkeys in- 
■(ariabl.y start for the house in time to reach the west 
edge of the pasture at four o'clock, and it takes them 
u'ltil about sundoAvn to reach the house near where they 
loost. Xow, how can they tell the time of day, which 
tbey seem to do as well as we do? 

I did not learn in a day nor in a year the art of rais- 
ing nearly all the turkeys hatched, nor until I had lost 
hundreds each year, I acting as pall bearer and chief 
mourner, and I assure you 1 filled the position of 
mourner admirably, weeping copiously over buried hopes 
(and those hopes were of a well filled purse). 

I hope I shall not have to meet those turkeys in the 
next world and be held accountable for my unpardonable 
ignorance, but perhaps, by sincerely repenting my past 
mistakes the sin of ignorance will be forgiven me. if I 
can be of any help to those who raise $50 and $75 tur- 
keys it may help condone the past. May our great 
American ThanksgiWng bird soar still higher and grow 
bigger and reach the thousand-dollar mark. He is sure 
to have his praises sung in foreign tongues, and the fun 
of it all is, how is he ever with his stupid brain going to 
learn those foreign languages, when they call him to 
breakfast, dinner and supper? How will he know what 
it all means? 

INDIGESTION 

A tui-key giows very fast and has an appetite like an 
ostrich, but without an ostrich's digestive ability. As 
the n.Ttuval way for a turkey to eat is to pick up a grain 
here and there in such a manner as to give the digestive 
organs a grain at a time to digest, then the digestive 
mill grinds slowly without being clogged. This method 
of feeding keeps up a steady circulation and the turkey 
keeps growinj.;' larger and stronger, the digestive organs 
being developed as the turkey grows, and they are there- 
fore better able to do their work when more food is re- 
quired to be digested to build up a large frame. On the 
other hand, when the poults are overfed, the machinery 
is clogged and there i,s a g-eneral smash-up, the effect 
being similar to that caused by throwing a bxishel of 
corn into a corn sheller. The machine will do its work 
all right if fed slowly, so will a turkey's digestive organs. 
A turkey is a voracious eater and will eat as often as you 
feed it. 

There are other causes that will bring death with 
very nearly the same symptoms. One is lice and one is 
lack of sharp grit. A turkey cannot grind its food with- 
out grit any more than a miller can grind wheat without 
millstones; we might as well try to chew our food with- 
out teeth. 

A neighbor told me that her turkeys were dj'ing and 
I sent her word to come and get some Mica Crystal Grit 
and give them, as 1 knew she was not giving them any 
grit. I advised her to put a little in the food every morn- 
ing. She did so and her turke3s are uo longer dying. It 
was the absence of sharp grit that caused them to die. 

I have adopted a treatment for turkeys and chicks 
that has proved a great success. If I see them act as 
though they were not feeling well I give a calomel pill. 



These I buy from the di-uggist, each pill to contain a 
tenth of a grain of calomel. I give the pills one a day for 
three days, then follow with quinine pills twice a day 
until the birds are well. If noticed and treated when first 
they show symptoms of not being well I have never failed 
to effect a cure. The calomel stirs up the liver and gets 
it to work, as most cases of sickness among poultry com- 
mence with a disordered liver. After the system has had 
a thorough cleansing the quinine acts as tonic to build 
the birds up and gives them aj)petites, then nature does 
the rest. By this course of treatment you ward off what 
might terminate in serious sickness and death. I have 
xised similar treatment in the human family and saved 
a great many doctor's bills, to say nothing of long spells 
of sickness and suffering. 

OVERFEEDING CAUSES DEATH 

Overfeeding is a common cau.se of loss in young tur- 
keys. I feed only three times a day for the good reason 
that I could not possibly find time to feed oftener with 
the large number I raise. I find it sufficient. They take 
more exercise if fed less, then when they are fed they 
are hungry. The time between feeding, too, allows the 
food to digest and gives the digestive organs a little rest. 

I feed more green food than most people do, as 1 
find it has the same effect on turkeys that it has on 
ducks. It produces a large frame. I chop dandelion 
leaves for them in the morning and at night chop up 
onions, tops and all. I notice there is never a scrap of 
the green food left when they are through eating. They 
make rapid growth when fed this way, besides it is a 
cheap way to feed them. 

I give a little sharp grit in their food every morn- 
ing. I use grit and oyster shell, the larger part grit, as 
turke,\ s to be liealthy must have it. I have lost hundreds 
of turkeys I know by not having plenty of grit with 
which to grind their -food. If thej- get a little sharp grit 
in their food every morning it keeps their grinding ap- 
l)aratus in perfect order. Very young birds do not find 
the grit of their own accord, and as they grow older they 
are liable to gorge themselves with the grit as soon as 
they discover it, thereby clogging their digestive organs, 
while a small quantity in their food each morning keeps 
tliem in excellent condition. 

I have my little poults so they will fly over a board 
a foot high when but one week old. There are more 
turkeys killed by over feeding and lice and want of grit 
than all other things combined. If you do not keep them 
near the house so that yo\i can run them under cover 
when a heavy storm comes up you are liable to lose a 
large per cent. I find a large shed with a board floor is 
fine to run them in in case of sudden storms. Of course 
you must stay close at home to meet all these emergen- 
cies. It is not more confining than other occupations. 
The merchant, lawyer, doctor, mechanic and farmer have 
to confine them.selves closely to business, and the poultry 
raiser, whether for the fancy or market, must make it a 
business and work on business principles. 

EVILS FROM LACK OF EXERCISE 
I learned something about exercise for vei-y young 
turkeys this year. I hatched some under hens quite 
early; it was wet and cold and of the two evils I decided 
I would not turn tliem oiit to run through the day, so 1 
kept them cooped a week or more. When I went to feed 
them I found one that did not seem to have the use of 
its left side. I thought it had got hurt in some way and 
would soon be all right. It got no better and I still kept 
them cooped, as it was so cold and wet; then another 
got that way. They would push themselves around with 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



67 



tlioir right foot as they lay on their left side. When the 
third one was taken sick I decided it was paralysis of 
the left side, brought on by lack of exercise, and so 1 
turned them out. Those that had been affected died. It 
was still cold and wet when my other turkeys began to 
hatch, and I kept the first lot of chicks cooped perhaps 
five days, when one of them acted in the same way as 
the early hatched birds. I turned them out to run 
throiig-h the day and that was the last of it. This con- 
vinced me that it was paralysis broug-ht on by lack of 
exercise. The peculiar part of it was that it was always 
the left side affected. Jly turkeys are making rapid 
growth out on the range. I feed them a little grain when 
they come up at night, and we have such quantities of 
apples that I put the small ones in a box and chop them 
up with the spade and feed them to 
all the poultry, and they do enjoy the 
cool juice these hot, dry days, and 
the apples keep them in such good 
health and are so much better for 
them than green food or even grass- 
hop])ers exclusively. 

The only road to success with 
turkeys is to keep them healthy. 
Give them plenty of exercise, com- 
mencing to let them run through the 
middle of the day at three or four 
days old; keep the lice off and give 
a little grit in their food every morn- 
ing', with good, clean water to drink 
and they will have very few diseases. 
Exercise they must have, but very 
young turkeys can have sufficient ex- 
ercise on an acre or two, and a great many young turkeys 
i-an be saved bj' enjoying this exercise under your control. 
Coop at night until they begin to want to roost. 

PUNCHING THE POULTS 
1 always mark my young poults when I put them out 
on the range, as otherwise they would be forgotten or 
neglected. With care there will be found web enough to 
allow a good mark and it will not grow together if, as 
sometimes is the ease, you cut into the edge of the web, 
It will do no harm and will always show the mark. It is 
different with ducks, the mark will grow together if 
made in the edge of the web, but if several punch marks 
are made you can always see the scars, as the webs of 
their feet are very transparent. Sometimes I make so 
large a hole in a duck's foot that it does not grow to- 
gether and I often find them with a weed run through 
the hole. In their efforts to release themselves they get 
twisted and hang- there until they die if not released. 



growth into the body and the other 
;;rc;j11^ increases our chance of success. 



feathers. 



This 



shows. Does the second growth of flight feathers- mak« 
as finely marked a wing as the first, or is the reverse the 
case? I had never thought of it in that light before and 
shall cxpei'iment this summer and let the readers know, 
'i'liis much I do know after years of experience, the little 
turkeys certainly are stronger and stand a better chance 
of living if the first flight feathers are pulled when they 
are from three to four days old, and they come out so 
easily at this time that it has no evil effect. 

LICE AND MITE DESTROYERS 
Another correspondent asked about carbolineum. 




PULLING WING FEATHERS 
am iisked if I pull the wing feathers of sick poults 



to improve their health, and I reply — No, not to improve 
their health, but to prevent too much strength being 
taken from their systems by the extreme growth of flight 
feathers. I usually pull the first flight feathers on the 
wing when the turkeys are from three to six days old, 
as at that time the^' come out so easily that it almost 
seems as if nature intended those feathers to be pulled. 
Sometimes I cannot get the time to attend to it, and I 
notice the quill feathers are making such rapid growth 
that they hang down, almost drag, and the turkeys ap- 
pear much weaker than those that have had their feath- 
ers pulled; after this period, too, they are much harder 
to pull and the poults have lost all the strength that it 
( ook to grow them. They should be pulled almost as 
soon as they start to grow, then your turkeys will put 



.\ Gronp of Mrs. Chas. Jones Breeding Turkeys 

wishing to know if it is the same as carbolineum avenar- 
ius. It is the same article. It was originally manufac- 
tured in Germany and sent over to this country in bar- 
rels. Some claim it is still made there, but I am of the 
opinion that what we use is an American product. Its 
original use was as a wood preservative for painting 
fence posts where they are set in the ground. It is 
claimed that if posts for corn cribs are painted with it, 
it will keep rats out of the crib, although I have heard 
this contradicted. She asks if it is dangerous to use. 
The only danger is, it will cause the face and hands to 
swell if it is used in strong sunlight. She also asks if 
it is lasting in its effects on mites and lice. It is a wood 
preservative and penetrates right through an inch board 
in a verj' few minutes, and it is there to stay so long as 
the board lasts. For this reason it has been found to be 
one of the best preventatives of lice and mites that is 
known. I gave it enough of a trial to know it will do all 
that is claimed for it. I painted all my turkey and 
chicken coops with it and never had healthier birds. I 
painted my coops only once. It costs ninety cents a gal- 
lon. I painted all perches and intend to spray my houses 
with it, as it is not expensive when \ised with a fine 
sprayer, such as can be bought for $1. 

However, I do not trust entirely to any one thing. I 
paint a box, which I keep for the purpose, with some 
good lice killer, and put turkeys and chicks in it for an 
hour or two, leaving sufficient provision for fresh air. I 
also use good insect powder on the little chicks and tur- 
keys. Whether or not carbolineum avenarius or lice kil- 
ler is dangerous to use on old fowls in the way recom- 
mended I cannot say, but there is one thing certain, it 
^vill not poison them. Any strong insecticide will kill 
little turkeys or chickens if they are shut in a box 
which is painted with it and allowed no fresh air. This 
I know by sad experience. For spraying houses and 



68 



TURKKYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



painting perches I prefer the carbolineum, but I lilce the 
lice killer best for painting a box in which to place the 
birds. I use lice powder for the very young birds. 

SOME DISEASES OF TURKEYS 

A lady wrote that she hatched sixty-six little turkeys 
and had only ten left. Her turkeys had a diarrhoea, a 
thin yellowish discharge. This might be from lack of 
grit. 

As the cold rains and cool nights come, colds that 
take the form of roup often attack turkeys, though 1 
have very little if any trouble of this kind since I learned 
more about turkeys and their ways and since I feed them 
just clear, drj' grain. When I used to feed mashes often 
hot or very warm, both chickens and turkeys had roup, 
but now it is almost an unknown disease on our place. 

I saw a remedy recommended which I think worth 
trying. It was to bathe the swollen head, mouth and 
throat with turpentine. It is said to work a speedy cure. 

A lady telephoned me recently that one of her hens 
was suffering from a peculiar trouble. Although it had a 
good appetite it could not get its head to the ground to 
eat. The trouble appeared to be in her neck. I advised 
rubbing her neck with turpentine and putting her food 
up high where she could reach it, and thought she would 
get ever it as she appeared to be very hungry, which 
proved that her digestion was all right. A few days later 
the lady reported that the hen was all right. 

Several cases have been reported to me in this vicin- 
ity, of sick turkeys whose droppings are yellow. I have 
recommended linseed oil, or what has proved much bet- 
ter, olive oil. A lemon extract bottle of the smaller size 
holds about three doses. It should be given about twelve 
hours apart, and about six hours after the last dose of 
the olive oil give a capsule of quinine. Give quinine tvrice 
a day until the turkey has regained its strength. 
Quinine is a very strong tonic for turkeys, and I am 
never without it. But never doctor poultry if it can be 
avoided, as poultry, like people, are better kept well than 
doped to make them well. They, like ourselves, are ma- 
chines. If they have the kind of food nature intended 
them to have and they have exercise to grind that fofd, 
it goes to build up the system and to repair the waste 
that is constantly taking place. We mxist all exercise the 
muscles that do the grinding. 

The Bible says that man must earn his bread by the 
sweat of his brow. Working until the sweat shows on 
the brow means hard physical labor and that promotes 
health. Of course we have thousands of men today who 
have the get-rich-quick idea in their heads, who 
are determined to avoid earning their bread by the sweat 
of their brows. The result is that our prisons are full 
and thousands of men are broken in health. Let us learn 
a lesson from our birds and be wi.se. Animals of all kinds 
eat and exercise to digest their food, but man alone 
covets ease and luxury without physical labor. We al- 
ways have among us men broken down in health and in 
mind who fill early graves because they are not willing 
to submit to nature's ways and so retain their vigor and 
health. 

TINCTURE OF IODINE FOR LICE 

I have been in the habit of using tincture of iodine 
.for lice. I take a feather (but intend getting a small 
brush) and brush the top of the head and across the 
quills of the wing feathers, under the wdngs, and the 
fluff below the vent with the tincture of iodine. It is a 
fact that 1 have proved time and again that those treated 
with iodine for lice outgrew those treated with 
other remedies, the only objection being the expense, 



but if one will send and get a large bottle at wholesale 
price it vidll not be expensive. 

When turkeys are making very rapid growth, I find 
the lice are making rapid growth also. When I take the 
old turkey oil the nest I paint a box with lice killer, put 
her in and leave her for two hours. I do not shut her in 
an air tight coTnpartment, only close enough for the lice 
killer to thoroughly fumigate her feathers. This kills 
all the lice and uits. I grease the heads of the little tur- 
keys to destroy the large head lice; I also dust them 
thoroughl}^ with a good lice powder and paint their coops 
with carbolineum, but with all the precautions I find 1 
must look over them once a week for lice. One of the 
most essential things during July is to keep the turkeys 
free from lice. 

The first of July generally ends the turkey egg busi- 
ness. Occasionally turkeys lay a third clutch of eggs 
after that time, but 1 never consider them of much 
value, as they do not hatch well and the young turkeys 
never grow ver3' large. I remember one exception to that 
rule. I had a brood of young turkeys come off about the 
first of August, and a pullet from that flock weighed six- 
teen pounds on the 10th of December. I took first prem- 
ium with her at Dixon, 111., before the weight was raised 
in the Standard. That was one pound above standard 
weight on a pullet ten days over four months old. 

The work for August in the turkey yard is very light 
as the turkeys are, or should be, out on the range on 
farms. I only feed them a little in the morning so that 
they may be induced to run out in search of food, and a 
little at night to get them to come home. After they 
have started out, all I have to do is to bring them home 
at night and keep on the watch for lice. They go through 
a corn field and I have noticed the old turkey and young 
ones stop and wallow in the loose airt to dust them- 
selves, so I hardly ever have much trouble vrith lice when 
they are out on the range. 

In November I have watched them vrith a great deal 
of interest to see how they make up their bill of fare for 
breakfast. They work lively, for they have voracious 
appetites and have nearly cleared the place of grasshop- 
pers. Now they make their breakfast of weeds or grass 
seeds with occasionally oats that have been left lying on 
the ground. I notice as the fall advances they spend a 
lot of time in the corn field, picking corn from ears 
that have been blovsTi down. 

The following is a good story, although I do not 
vouch for its truthfulness: A farmer in Kansas has 
started a novel plan, based upon the prevalence of grass- 
hoppers. He has about one thousand turkeys. After his 
neighbors saw the way his fields were cleared of grass- 
hoppers they proposed hiring one hundred turkeys by 
the day to eat their grasshoppers, so he divided them 
into flocks of one hundred and hired them out at $2.50 
per one hundred for a day's work, which made $25 in- 
come a day for the use of one thousand turkeys, and 
what turkeys those turkeys will be this fall. This of 
course settles the grasshopper question in Kansas and 
Nebraska. If they can settle the rainfall question as 
easily, the two states will never hold the emigration that 
will rush there. 

INBREEDING AND NEED OF RANGE 
Turkeys deteriorate quicker by inbreeding than any 
other animal. Inbreeding indiscriminately for a long 
time weakens their constitutions. Turkeys, like horses, 
in their wild state, elected their leaders, or rather the 
leaders elected themselves by their prowess. When an 
old leader began to show signs of feebleness a young 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



69 



turkey torn challenged him to mortal combat. If the old 
chief was equal to the combat the young aspirant was 
compelled to fall back to the rear or remain where he 
fell. When the old chief showed renewed signs of feeble- 
ness another young aspirant for royal honors stepped 
out of the ranks and the old tom rarely came ofE con- 
queror. One of our hunters who goes west every year to 
hunt has often told me of seeing the footprints of an 
enormous wild turkey that he had tracked and had oc- 
casionally got a glimpse of. He described him as being 
as large as a calf. That old tom had evidently ruled su- 
preme for many years and had grown too smart to be 






'<r'a'iafci. 




A Winner from the Yards of 5irs. Chas. .Tonea 

caught napping, so the hunter could never get a shot at 
hjm. Turkeys in their wild state range in large flocks, 
but when they are domesticated it is necessary to keep 
them in small flocks. I think eighty acres little enough 
range for 150 turkeys. They could be bred in and left to 
run in flocks of three hundred if they had a range of 
three hundred acres. The reason large flocks cannot be 
kept on small range is that they do not find sufficient 
insects and the thousand other things that they pick 
up to make their bill of fare. Fifty can be kept on from 
one to three acres until they are six weeks or two 
months old, then one just simply cannot keep them in 
a small enclosure, as they will crawl under or through or 
get out some other way, for they are growing fast and 
must have what nature demands. I always make a vir- 
tue of necessity and turn them out on the range. 

I change males every year. I do not go out of the 
strain I am breeding, but take another branch of the 
same line of blood, and have found that I do not impair 
their vigor in the least, but am building up strong, 
healthy birds with plumage that for j'ears has kept my 
whole flock above a score of 93, and that in a flock of one 
hundred and fifty birds. Last year 94 was the lowest. 
While I have improved them in shape and plumage I do 
not find one sick turkey in twenty-five throughout the 
season. 

LINE BREEDING 

At one of the great Chicago shows two things were 
vQry strongly impressed on my mind; one was strain or 
line-breeding of turkeys. The two leading strains ex- 
hibited there have been line bred to my certain knowl- 
edge; one at least ten or twelve years (perhaps longer, 
but I am speaking of what I know), the other from in- 
formation gained in diiferent ways I am led to believe 
has been line bred the same length of time. They have 
formed two distinct types; both strains very large birds 



and beautifully bronzed, but with this difference in color 
of plumage — in one strain the bronze or gold band across 
tail coverts, .and in fact throughout the whole plumage 
was a greenish golden color; in the other it was just the 
color of gold without the greenish hue. From what I know 
these two strains have won most of the premiums in our 
leading shows from Madison Square to Chicago. Upon 
comparing the plumage after the premiums were 
awarded the exhibitors were convinced that the birds 
represented two distinct species of the same bird. The 
strain that had the pure gold color had the gold band 
the entire length of the back. This was absent in the 
other strain. 

The prevailing idea In looking over this Chicago show 
was that the old avoirdupois way of mixing blood was 
out of date, and if we expect to get to the front, the 
blood must be weighed by apothecary weight, or better 
still, on the alchemist's scales, although the alchemist, E 
believe, has never been able to brew in his caldron in- 
L^redients that turned out gold. One breeder proved 
beyond a doubt that he could put a clear, even gold band 
■ ■n Bronze turkeys, and the inference is that he has been 
for years using the alchemist scales to reach this much 
to be desired point of excellence. 

If the exhibits of Bronze turkeys continue to grow 1 
am afraid there will have to be erected a new Coliseum 
for the turkey exhibit alone. 

If we all bred Plymouth Rocks and there was only 
one breed and one club, the poultry business would be 
tame and we would lose our incentive to strive for our 
ideal in the vai-iety that met our fancy. Now if the ad- 
mirers and breeders of each variety of turkeys were to 
organize a club to push the interest of their particular 
breed, to look up their origin and write up the good 
qualities that commend them to breeders the turkey 
business would be pushed to the front in a way that 
could not be accomplished by an indiscriminate pushing 
of all varieties combined. 

TURKEYS VS. GRASSHOPPERS 
In looking over a Chicago paper some time ago. I 
saw an account of a Kansas farmer who was starting 
turkey raising on a large scale. His idea was a good one 
as they are r.aising large fields of alfalfa and the grass- 
hopijers are proving a great detriment to that crop. 
Alfalfa has been a great boon to the drought-stricken 
parts of our country. Irrigation, the raising of trees 
and then the great crops of alfalfa have made the desert 
blossom like the rose. But the grasshopper lays its eggs, 
and the young when hatched feed on this alfalfa, the 
best paj'ing crop of these districts. They eat off the 
blossoms and so make the raising of seed very difficult 
as the second crop is the seed crop that is saved, and 
that is the very crop that is ready when the grasshopper 
season is at its height. The seed is valuable. We paid 
nine dollars a bushel for enough to sow three acres. 

I have always thought that if Kansas farmers would 
go into turkey raising on a large scale, they wpuld do 
away with the grasshopper plague to a great extent. I 
have watched fields where grasshoppers were thickest 
and I found that as a rule they are not migratory in 
their habits. I know that in the early days of the set- 
tlement of Kansas and Nebraska they were said to go 
in swarms, but here when they are thick in one field one 
year they are usually thick in the same field the follow- 
ing year. Along the railroad they are thick every year, 
because nothing is allowed to go on the track for fear of 
it being killed. And so they lay their eggs there and 
Ihey hatch and the young thrive, and this is repeated 



70 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



year after year while in adjoining- fields there are com- 
paratively few grasshoppers. 

If each Kansas and Nebraska farmer would raise 
from one to two hundred turkeys each year he would 
find his farms cleared of grasshoppers, and the weed 
seeds that are so great a detriment to farming- wouki 
go into the crops of the turkeys and what had been an 
injury to farmers would be tiarned into many dollar.s for 
their use. 

I have been told that the alfalfa in western Ne- 
braska was full of grasshoppers when cut, and that they 
smothered. During the winter the chickens scratch pre- 
served grasshoppers out of the hay. Turkeys would find 
there their natural food all cut and dried for them, ex- 
cept the exercise of scratching to get it. It is a good 
story and it has au advantage over some told of that 
country, for this one might be true. 

No one need be afraid of overproduction of turkeys 



as the demand will always exceed the supply. In the 
states where both alfalfa and grasshoppers grow, farm- 
ers will raise three crops in one — the haj' for the stock 
;nid the grasshojipers for the turkeys. And so the states 
that have had so hard a struggle to produce paying- 
crops year after year, may yet become the greatest 
money making states in the union as they are also in 
the great corn belt. Look back across the years when 
the first Thanksgiving turkeys were killed to feed the 
starving Pilgrims and note the marvelous changes that 
have taken place. The greatest nation on earth was 
born and kept from starvation by -wild turkeys and wild 
game with the meagre supplies sent across the ocean by 
slow sailing vessels that took months to reach our 
shoi-es. If ever in the future our supply of turkej'S 
should exceed the demand, our fast going steamships 
will take them to foreign markets in six to eight days 
where there will be an unlimited demand for anything 
.--.0 delicious to the taste as a proi^erly grown turkey. 







•iy THE 
y, , RtUflBLt 

^>r- ■' r, POWLTRV 

.^/ JOURN«L. 



Dowrn-To-Dats Bronze Tnrkcya— Br Sewell 



THE WATCHWORD OF SUCCESS 

Experience, Watchfulness and Common-Sense are Necessary to Raise Prize- Winning Bronze Turkeys — Something About Coops for the 

Mother and Her Poults— Do Not Overfeed 



MRS. NELLIE BULLOCK 




ERE I to begin the breeding of fancj' turkeys 
and could have the benefit of niy present 
knowledge, I think I should buy stock, the 
very best my purse would allow, even if 1 
had to limit my flock to a pair. We bought 
eggs at different times from three noted fanciers, but 
something went wrong each time, either the eggs were 
infertile, or not strong enough to hatch, or the poults 
would manage to die. So I think the quicker way to 
secure a good flock would be to purchase birds. Turkeys 
are hardy after they are half grown, and most persons 
would sell cheaper then than after they are grown. It 
would not be a bad idea to invest in half -grown birds. 

I should advise any one who has not raised turkeys to 
get the cheaper grade of some thoroughbred variety you 
fancy, and learn with them. Then if you have losses it 
will not bankrupt you, and when you have mastered the 
details necessary to raising these successfully you can 
invest in birds of fine plumage and other fine points pos- 
sessed by fancy fowls, to the extent of your much en- 
larged purse — never forgetting, however, that there is 
always something to be learned. 

For those who have had success in raising commor. 
turkeys and who wish to start with some special variety 
of thoroughbred turkej's, I should advise them to get a 
pair, trio or jien of the best your purse will afford and 
apply to theni your knowledge of care and feeding gained 
while raising the common birds. 

CARE OF POULTS 

Eaising the poults is the hard task for most begin- 
ners, and some of the more experienced ones have their 
hands full when they try to raise a large per cent. 
Practical experience, watchfulness and plenty of common 
sense applied to the varying circumstances, are necessary 
to success. Our plan is somewhat as follows: First, we 
require a roomy coop with a dry floor, covered ^th tim- 
othy or clover chaff. Confine the mother, either a 
chicken or a turkey hen, on rainy days. On dry, sun- 
shiny days, tether her to an apple tree limb, having the 
coop near. Clean the floor twice a week at least. If the 
earth is dry, it will serve very well as a floor, otherwise, 
a raised board floor would be better. Dust both the 
mother and the poults thoroughly twice a week with 
Persian insect powder. For dusting the poults, I keep a 
two gallon, flaring earthenware crock. We put a handful 
of powder in the crock, then hold the poult by the feet 
over the crock and dust it until it looks yellow all over. 
I do not have so much trouble with lice as I did when I 
put the powder on in spots. Keep the water dishes clean 
and full. 

We try not to overfeed, and neither do we starve 
them, for one is as bad as the other. We console ourselves 
if occasionally a poult dies, or several of them die at one 
time, with the thought that our neighbors, too, lose 
poults and that very few, no matter how much knowledge 
they have on this subject, can raise all that hatch.' 

TURKEYS AS HATCHERS 
There was an interesting item in the Reliable Poultry 
Journal some years ago over the initials C. H. A., which 
we reproduce: 



"A great deal is being said lately about using turkeys 
for hatching hen eggs, so I will give my experience. It 
has been really comical to see the look of doubt on the 
faces of people when told that we had turkej's which had 
never laid any eggs, sitting. Too polite to dispute the 
statement, their looks plainly said, 'Does he expect me to 
believe that story?' 

"xVhen I first read in an English poultry book of the 
French method of rising turkeys to hatch and care for 
chickens, 1 had no incubator and concluded to try the 
plan. Late in the fall I sent out in the country and 
bought a late hatched hen turkey for very little monej*. 
In February we prepared a box (with plenty of chaff 
over a layer or horse manxire) that could be shut up to 
exclude the light. Did not give either -wine or whisky, 
but in two or three weeks she was sitting quietly on the 
china eggs and when taken olt the uest to be fed, would 
voluntarily return. I then filled the nest with hens' eggs, 
remo\'ing them as soon as they began to pip to keep the 
turkey from wanting to leave the nest and putting in 
other eggs. .4fter sitting three months she was put in 
a yard with chickens for the rest of the sximmer. We 
put chickens of different ages with her and she received 
them all with equal kindness. 

"This year we have two turkeys, besides an incubator, 
and after hatching three sittings of eggs we thought best 
to take them off the nest, but one watched her chance 
and went back on the nest till I filled it with eggs again, 
so I let her stay. The other is laying and \vill be ready 
for work later if needed. . 



6 ft 




Ideal Turkey Coop for Hen and Poults 

"They make careful, patient mothers, are equal in 
that respect to any hen, and it is a wonder that farmers 
do not make more use of them than they do." 

DESCRIPTION OF IDEAL COOP 

We have a coop for turkeys and poults which we 
find almost ideal. It is two feet high in the back and 
three feet in front; six feet long and three feet wide. 
The door is large enough to allow a turkey hen to walk 
in and out without inconvenience and the coop is large 
enough to allow a turkey hen and twenty poults to walk 
around when they are confined during a rainy day. We 
use two doors, one made of lumber for stormy times, the 
other of inch mesh wire netting for warm nights. Thus 
plenty of fresh air is admitted and small rats or larger 
animals are kept out. 







Down-To-Da«e While Holland Tnrkeys— By Sewell 



WHITE HOLLAND TURKEYS 

Beautiful in Shape and Cdaste in Color, They Form an Excellent Foil for the Brilliant Hues of the Bronze Variety, While Their Many 

Excellent Qualities Make Them Worthy Rivals 



JOHN R. GARBEE 




EARS ago we raised only the common turkeys 
and we counted ourselves among the lucky 
ones if we, or rather I should say the old 
turkey hens, raised sixteen or twenty a year. 
If the young turkeys weighed when dressed 
in November eight or ten pounds they had done well. 
Alung about 1890 I developed a severe case of "poultry 
fever." I have been a reader of the Reliable Poultry Jour- 
nal ever since it came into existence. I have a complete 
file of it down to date, which fact is explained when I say 
that I consider it the leader among poultry papers. 

I also read other poultry and farm papers, and soon 
I was convinced that better poultry and turkeys ought to 
be raised on farms and that turkeys could be managed so 
that there should be a good 
profit in them. Hunters were 
killing our common turkeys 
for wild ones because they 
wandered so far from home, 
thereby causing us consider- 
able vexation and loss. 

We had never seen a pure 
white turkey, but we read 
about their . gentleness and 
that they did not roam like 
the other varieties. So we 
sold all our common ones and 
purchased a trio of White 
Holland turkeys from an R. 
P. J. advertiser, paying $7.50 for them and $3 expressage 
— which seemed a big price then. Since then we have paid 
more than that for a single bird. These first birds were 
rather small, though pretty. Up to this time I never had 
seen a Standard, but I soon bought one and learned that 
my birds were under weight, and feed them how I would, 
I could not get that trio up to Standard weight. 

I soon learned where I could get large vv'hite Hol- 
land turkej'S, and I bought some more, still keeping the 
little, plump hens. The next season the j'oung poults 
were larger than their mothers — the result of using a 
large torn. The results have been about the same 
whether I used a large young torn or an older bird, provided 
the young males were big boned, blocky fellows mated 
•to good blocky hens or pullets. Still, I preier a torn from 
two to five years old. I ■wish to state here that when 1 
began breeding this variety of turkeys vhe toms at their 
best weighed only sixteen pounds and the pullets and 
hens eight to ten pounds, but during the past three or 
four years, by following my own rules of mating as 
given here, my turkeys have doubled these weights, so 
that now my young toms and pullets weigh from fifteen 
to twenty-four pounds. 

I use both pullets and hens as breeders, though I am 
careful to select the best shaped ones — those that are 
blocky and in first class health. The first eggs that are 
laid are given to domestic hens (eight or ten to each 




A flook of Whi 

The Property of Mr, 



hen) or are put in an incubator. We get successful 
hatches either way, but we never have had success when 
we put the poults in a brooder. It may be the fault of 
this particular make of brooder, as I never have thought 
well of it, though it is a high priced one. So we give the 
poults to hens. Now, it 5s easy enough to hatch the 
poults, the main trouble is to raise them. I am free to 
confess I do not know it all, but some things I have 
learned from experience. I know I have lost more poults 
from lice, over feeding and chilling than from all other 
causes combined. Lice are the poults' worst enemies, 
and next they suffer from overfeeding. Our rule for feed- 
ing chicks is "any sound, wholesome food, fed a little at 
a time." This rule applied to poults works equally well. 

We are most successful when 
the weather is fair and the 
food is gfiven to them three 
times a day, and not faster 
than it could be digested. We 
find cottage cheese is good 
for them and they like it, but 
judgment must be used in 
feeding it. I repeat that any 
clean, wholesome food fed in 
moderation is good for them. 
We find a varied diet — corn 
bread, cracked corn, wheat, 
chopped vegetables, table 
scraps, even corn dough oc- 
casionally — works all right, while some breeders claim 
success on one straight diet. 

After the second and third clutches of eggs are laid 
we set the turkey hens. We always prefer to move them 
to a suitable coop or barrel nest in the yard or near a 
poultry house, so they can be protected and cared for 
better. They can be moved with but little trouble when 
broody. They are confined to the nest for a few days by 
a slat coop, after that they get off and on at vrill, food 
and fresh water being kept near them. Remember al- 
ways that lice are the great drawback to successful tur- 
key raising, and try to have your sitting hen absolutely 
free from lice, mites or jiggers when the eggs hatch, and 
then keep her free. Watch the poults, too, and do not 
let them suffer from lice. A clean coop and pure water 
are essential to success. 

Do not overfeed nor underfeed either. Provide a 
comfortable place for the hen and poults, so that the 
latter may not get unduly chilled, and give the hen all 
the food she will eat, so she will not be restless, but 
put her food out of reach of the poults. Note how the 
latter will grow with this care. By the time they are 
feathered and large enough to roam they vrill be but 
little care and they will get a large share of their food 
trom the fields, but if you follow the method I have 
outlined they will always come home for supper and will 
be very gentle. 



te Hollands 

. John R, Garbee 



ADVOCATES WHITE HOLLAND TURKEYS 

Their Beauty and Market Qualifications Make it Both Pleasant and Profitable to Raise Them— Preferred Weight of Turkeys — Inbreeding — 

Black Ticking on Feathers 



J. A. LELAND 




FTER several years of experience with White 
Holland T\irkeys I have come to the con- 
'^M'^f\ \ elusion that there is no better variety for 
V/W- 'l\- \ beauty and utility. The standard weight 
for adult toms is twenty-eig'ht pounds, for 
adult hens eighteen pounds, for young toms 
twenty pounds, and young hens fourteen 
pounds. These weights are often exceeded, 
but not as a rule to the advantage of the breed, although 



turkey's are never housed, nor should they be, except for 
convenience in handling, but we consider it best to have 
them roost some place sheltered from severe winds and 
storms. 

I would clip the flight feathers of one wing so that an 
ordinary five-foot fence that they could not get through 
nor under, would confine them. 

We would not consider it jirofitable to raise lai-ge 
niimber.s of turkeys in small eiielosures as they require 




White Hollands, as bred by Mr. J. A. Leland 



the majority of fanciers try to produce the heaviest birds 
possible for .show purpose.s. In our experience young 
stock must reach these weights when about six to eight 
months old if they ever attain standard weight when 
mature. Very heavy specimens are not prolific breeders 
and stock weighing standard in breeding condition is 
generally to be preferred. 

Inbreeding is a thing that turkeys cannot stand, 
therefore, it is imperative that new blood be obtained 
each year if we ^vish to raise a large number of hardy, 
heav}' boned fowls that will top either the market or 
show room. As to color I have never seen a White Hol- 
land turkey that did not show some black ticking in its 
plumage during some period of its life. However, there 
is a great difference in specimens in this respect and 
we should breed from stock as free from this fault as 
possible, if we ever expect to correct it. We believe an 
ideal White Holland should have a very full, round body 
(an e^g with large end forward gives a good idea), neck 
of good length, rather long tail and pure white plumage. 
They should have stout legs, the shanks should be bright 
pink or flesh color, the former much to be preferred 
from a beauty standpoint, and rather large feet. My 



a large range, where they obtain the greater part of their 
food at no cost. If all food were bought the cost of pro- 
duction would be too great and turkeys do not thrive in 
close confinement. 

About the middle of March we place boxes and bar- 
rels for nests in out of the way places about the farm 
buildings. The hens find them and soon begin to lay. If 
turkeys are not furnished suitable nests they are apt to 
choose them in places exposed to crows and vermin. A 
crow will watch a hen half a day to get an egg and gen- 
erally finds the nest, while I have found hens dead on 
their nests, killed by minks or skunks. If their first 
clutch is taken away thej' will lay another and sometimes 
a third. The broody hens should be conflled a few days if 
their eggs are taken, as they sometimes will sit on their 
nests all the rest of the summer and may die while molt- 
ing in the fall. It is often a good plan to set the first 
clutch under domestic hens, as the conditions in early 
spring are frequently unfavorable to oiitdoor incubation, 
and these hens are more easily handled in confinement. 
It is best to let the turkey hatch her second laying, as 
the third comes too late, if at all, and early hatched tur- 
keys are most desirable. 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



75 



BREEDERS AND POULTS 

Ordinarily I mate six to twelve hens with a torn and 
find the eggs are very fertile, but I think that as many as 
twenty might safely be mated to one male. Only one torn 
should run with the flock during the breeding season, but 
it is \vell to keep an extra one to use in case of accident. 

My breeders have the run of the farm and get only 
what they pick up about the buildings, which amounts to 
considerable in winter, but to almost none when good 
weather comes and then they glean the bulk of their 
food in the fields. Turkey eggs are very fertile and hatch 
in twenty-eight days. At hatching time the hen should 
be closely watched and, if necessary, the poults taken 
away when dry until all are hatched, in order that she 
shall not leave the nest with them and so chill the other 
eggs. 

During incubation and at hatching time the hen 
should be frequently dusted with some good insect pow- 
der, so you may be sure she is free from lice, which, witli 
filth and dampness, are the worst enemies of young fowLs. 
Should this be neglected and the poults become infested, 
a mixture of kerosene and lard — just a few drops of the 
former, as it is so strong, will usually rid them of the 
nuisance. Apph- it around the head, under the wings and 
about the vent. 

After the poults are hatched jilace a coop with a good 
roof and slatted end over the hen. This will allow the 
poults to range about, but keeps the mother from tiring- 
them out or leading them through the wet grass. ^Vllen 
the dew has dried the hen may be given her liberty, but 
should be carefully watched and driven to her coop in 
the evening, or in case of showers. These coops should 
be moved each day, so that the young will roost on clean 
ground. The first feed may consist of infertile eggs 
boiled hard and chopped fine, or a little cracked grain — 
oats or wheat preferred. A mixture of coarsely chopped 
or ground grains with a little millet should be fed until 
they are from four to sis weeks old, when they will be 
able to eat whole grain. From now on, in good weather, 
they will need only a little grain in the evening, which 
will serve to bring them home at night and keep them 
tame. They will get their food in the fields until frost 
comes, after that they should be fed all the corn they will 
e.at to prepare them for market. 



MARKETINt; TURKEYS 

Young turkeys command good prices by the first of 
November or even earlier in oxir large cities, and all the 
heaviest, old and young turkeys, should be marketed be- 
tween a few days before Thanksgiving- and Christmas, 
because after that time heavy stock is at a discount. 
Through January the demand is usually only fair, but it 
is a good time to dispose of any heavy turkeys that were 
not in condition to market earlier. Let us add right here 
that marketing thin poultry is throwing- money away, as 
we might almost sav that the difference between thin and 




White Hollanils at Woodside Farm, 
Proprietor 



Mr. J. A. Leland 



The two at the left are old birds, winners of 1st prize as pair at the 
1_ Illinois State Show. The others are young stork. ' 



prime stock is the profit. From March on the only de- 
mand is for medium to small turkeys, and that is when 
spring hens can be marketed be.st, for they are then 
scarce and consequently Ijring a good price. It will pay 
well to dress them if the w'ork is properly done. 

As with other poultry, good, healthy stock must be 
used, it must have good care, be fed reg,ularly and con- 
stant attention nmst be given to every detail of the busi- 
ness. Given good stock and suitable surroundings success 
depends largely on the owner or caretaker. Common 
sense must be relied on to carry us over the hard places. 

In closing I will say that I believe there is no more 
hardy and profitable turkey than the White Holland. 
They meet all market requirements and their dressing 
qttalities, flesh and beauty are unexcelled. 





standard Bred White Holland Tnrkeya, by Sewell 



WHITE HOLLAND TURKEYS 

Can bi Grown to Weights that Rival those of the Bronze Variety — May be Raised on a Small Place — A Clever Plan of Hatching — 

Feeding the Poults 

A. E. BLAKER 




E HAVE handled White Holland Turkeys for 
many years and the longer we keep them 
the better we like them. They are the 
stay-at-home turkey and a large flock can 
be raised on a few acres of land. Those 
now bred by the leading breeders are very 
closely approaching the weights of the 
Bronze. One of our head breeders for this season weighs 
over forty pounds, so I am inclined to think that those 
who have small birds only, have an inferior strain. Forty 
pounds is fourteen pounds above standard weight, but 
it shows what can be accomplished by selection and 
breeding. 

The White Hollands are the best layers of all the 
turkeys. They will lay all summer long if not allowed 
to sit. We have had them lay four clutches of eggs in a 
single season. Our breeding flocks are yarded and boxes 
and barrels are placed about in out-of-the-way places 
for nests and when a hen wants to sit we set her in 
those places. The fronts of these boxes and barrels are 
generally covered with brush and hay or straw put in- 
side. We use about an acre of ground for the breeding 
flock, but one can yard them in a very small place if 
necessary. We yarded a small flock one year, before we 
built our present yards, in a yard about five rods square 
and we never had eggs hatch better nor turkeys do bet- 
ter than that spring. Out of 108 hatched we had eight 
accidentally killed and raised 96 to maturity. 

HATCHING AND FEEDING 
We raise our turkeys altogether with turkey hens, 
yet we have them to lay out their second clutch before 
we let them have the young ones. We started here in 



Kansas six years ago with only two hens and a tom and 
the way we managed them is illustrative of what can 
be done with them. We saved up the eggs until the hens 
became broody. Then the eggs were set under chicken 
hens and we "broke up" the turkey hens. They began to 
lay again in about five days and were ready to sit by the 
time the eggs hatched. Although they had been 
sitting but a few days they were ready to take the poults 
and mother them just as if they had gone the full time. 

The poults hatch out very strong. Give us a few 
days of sunshine after they are hatched and we will 
bring nearly all of them through all right. We never feed 
the little ones corn chop, for we think it is too heavy a 
food. The first feed is good sharp grit and we keep it 
before them all the time. The first few days we feed 
stale bread soaked in sweet milk and squeezed dry with 
the hands and plenty of green food such as dandelion, 
lettuce, onion tops or whatever we have handy. Boiled 
rice is an excellent food, so are boiled eggs, but I think 
one can feed too many boiled eggs and so cause liver 
trouble. 

The poults are yarded for the first few weeks, but 
after we think they are old enough we turn them out 
and let them roam over the farm, being always careful 
that they come home every night. They require very 
little food and when grasshopper time comes they do 
not require any at all, but we always feed a little when 
they come in at night as an inducement to have them 
come home. They roam over the fields at their own 
sweet will in the day time, but they are made to under- 
stand from ihe start that Irhey must come home and go 
in their yard every evening. 



BREEDING WHITE HOLLAND TURKEYS 



Methods Used by a Successful Breeder — Selecting Breeding Stock — Preparation for Shows — Exhibiting — Diseases 

C, C. HERRON 




T PRESENT we are breeding- White Holland 
Turkeys as we think they are the best tur- 
key raised today. We have bred the Bronze, 
the Slate and the Bourbon Beds and have 
found the White Hollands to beat them all 
in many respects. 
In our opinion, there is nothing as stylish as a well 

developed White Holland, with its pure white plumage, 

pink shanks and feet and bright, red head. They are of 

a very gentle disposition, make excellent mothers, will 

stand confinement better than any other variety we have 

tried and will mature quicker and lay more eggs. 

They are the most thoroughly domesticated of any 

turkey raised today and by careful breeding the size has 

been improved until they today 

get to be as large as any turkey 

on the market. I have raised 

young toms that would weigh 24 

pounds at Thanksgiving and 

never saw those weights beaten 

by any other breed or variety. 
They can be successfully 

raised in confinement, the .same 

as chickens, until they are able 

to take care of themselves and 

they will come home at night to 

roost, the same as a flock of 

chickens. 

BREEDING STOCK 

I am very careful in select- 
. ing my breeding stock. I select 
four to six yearling hens with 
long backs; broad, deep breasts, 
good plumage and all around 
shape. These I place with a 
large, heavy-boned, vigorous, young tom, and I find this 
is the best mating I can get. I can get a larger per cent 
of fertile eggs and hatch out large boned, vigorous, 
young poults and can raise almost every one. I think a 
large per cent of the loss is due to the parent stock. 

I keep from five to six breeding yards each year and 
raise from two to three hundred. In the fall I cull out 
all the bad ones and place on the market about Thanks- 
giving time, and save none but the best to ship and breed 
from the coming season. 

I aim to keep breeders that are show birds and at the 
same time are excellent breeders. When I find a good 
breeder, 1 keep it as long as it lives, for I think they 
never get too old. 

I select my breeders and place them in a lot about 
one acre in size, for each pen. I have a nest for each hen 
(a sugar barrel makes a good nest). Place the nest in a 
quiet place where they will not be bothered; it is best to 
conceal it a little and let the turkey think she is stealing 
her nest. I gather the eggs every evening and place 
them in a cool, dark place; turn each day after the first 
day, as they will keep longer %vhen handled in this manner. 

The first hens that want to sit, get the eggs. I place 
from fifteen to seventeen eggs under each hen and aim 
to set her on the ground, if possible. Be sure and keep 




Jove I. 

A forty- five pound While Holland Tom from the yards 
of the Royal Farms 



her free from lice. When the little poults are hatched, I 
place them in a large roomy coop and let the poults have 
free range, after the dew is all gone in the morning. 
When they are three or four days old I give them a good 
dusting with lice powder and turn them and their mother 
loose upon free range. 

THE PARMER'S FRIEND 

There is no fowl that is as profitable for the farmer 
ac a flock of turkeys. They will destroy more insects 
than any other fowl and eat but very little grain until 
cold weather comes. Turkeys bring from 12c to 15c per 
pound in this section and will bring from $2 to $3.00 each, 
so there is a large profit to be made in breeding turkeys 

FANCY END IS NEGLECTED 

I think that the greatest 
trouble in the turkey industry is 
that they are neglected in the 
show room. They are not given 
near the attention that other 
poultry is, and for that reason 
they are not bred by more fan- 
ciers. I exhibit at some of the 
leading shows and as a rule the 
turkeys are placed in some back 
corner where they will not be 
seen by any one but the judge. 

CONDITIONING FOR THE 
SHOWS 

In July I start my old birds 
to moulting, then I put them up 
for about thirty days before 
they are ready to start. It is at 
this time that I handle them and 
get them tame and in condition. When they get so tame 
that I can handle them, I turn them out for a day or so 
and then place them back in confinement. This makes 
them very gentle and so I can handle them with ease, 
without their losing flesh, which they will do if kept shut 
up all the time. 'A turkey needs lots of exercise and will 
not stand steady confinement without losing in flesh. 

I have my birds fully feathered and in good condition 
and as they have their new poat of feathers they are 
clean and ready for the show, except a few stains which 
can be easily removed with a damp cloth or sponge. 
SHIPPING TO THE SHOW 
I place them in a good tight crate with plenty of 
straw. This keeps them clean while on the road. Be 
careful not to leave any cracks in the crate; it is one of 
the worst things you . can have to muss up the feathers, 
as the birds will be restless and move around more or 
less. 

DISEASES AND PREVENTATIVES 
Turkeys are an easy fowl to raise, yet are subject to 
several diseases such as cholera, roup and black-head. 
While I am n«ver bothered much with any of the above 
diseases, I think they can be prevented by keeping your 
birds health}', with roosting places in the open air, al.so 
by using clean food and fresh water. 



78 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



I think the most common disease in turkeys is 
cholera and the greater part of that is broiight on by 
the way they are fed. In the first place never allow the 
turkeys to arink stagnant water, such as they get in the 
fall when streams are low, or around the stable, etc. 

Do not over feed. During the seasons when bugs 
and insects are plentiful, feed very little grain, just a 
little in the morning and night. Too much animal food 
will get their bowels too lose and this is the first stage 
of cholera. Cholera is an easy disease for me to cure as 
1 use my own remedy and it has never failed yet. 



There is not as much disease as there used to be and 
there would be still less if the farmers and breeders 
would use a little more judgment and caution in their 
feeding and breeding. Inbreeding is almost a sure sign 
of failure in the turkey business. 

GET THEM LARGER 
There is one thing we all want to work for and that 
is to get more size and that is what you will not get if 
you inbreed; so, let us work together and build up our 
turkeys until they will be true to the name — Mammoth 
White Hollands. 



RAISE MORE TURKEYS 



A Western Breeder of Turkeys Thinks the Farmer Who Does Not Raise a Flock of Turkeys Makes a Mistake— She Finds Them Easy 

to Raise — It is Essential to Have Good Parent Stock 




MRS. W. N. JEWETT 



HEN one decides to raise turkeys the first 
thing to do is to invest in good, sound pai-- 
ent stock. I do not believe miich in buying 
turkey eggs to set, as so many persons are 
not careful enough about the breeding 
stock. A turkey that has been cured of roup or any other 
disease will not make a good breeder and the young will 
not be as sound nor do so well as you expect them to 
do. I would advise beginners to buy good stock. 

In selecting my own birds I always pick the largest 
boned birds that I have. If both the hen and the 
gobbler have large extended breasts the young will be 
strong and healthy. 

I feed my breeding turkeys just the same as I do my 
breeding chickens and they lay around the barn or hen 
house and do not wander far away. 

Ten or twelve hens may be kept with one gobbler 
and almost every egg will hatch if the gobbler is vigor- 
ous. He should be a year or a little older. I prefer that 
the hens be one or two years old as they are stronger and 
know better how to care for their young. 

I always set the first laying of eggs under good, old 
Plymouth Rock hens and then break up the turkey hens. 
In a few days they will be laying again. This second 
laying the turkeys are allowed to hatch and they will 
rear them so that they will make fine birds by Thanks- 
giving if they have any show at all. 

As we live on a farm we give the turkeys free range. 
As the grain ripens, the alfalfa is green and the grass- 
hoppers are plentiful, so with plenty of fresh water at 
hand, the turkeys do not need my care — except at night- 
fall — after they are okl enough to allow them to roam. 

FEED AND GARE OF YOUNG TURKEYS 

The yoifng poults are kept in a large coop until they 
are two weeks old, at which time they are strong and 
ready to follow the old turkey. She knows when they 
have roamed far enough and she \vill hover them when 
they need it. 

Great care should be taken not to feed the young 
poults too much at one time. This is the rock, if I may 
be permitted to use this figure of speech, on which the 
frail barks of thousands of poults have struck and gone 
down, together with the plans and hopes of their zealous 
but misguided owners. The natural habit of turkeys is 
to hunt for their food and they do it slowly and delib- 
ei'ately all the long day. Thus the process of eating and 



digesting are .simultaneous; but when they are fed with 
a lavish hand they gorge themselves and in a few weeks 
fall victims of their own greed. 

I prefer the White Holland because they do not roam 
nearly so far as the Bronze. If you mate them well they 
will grow very large. The first feed the poults have is 
hard-boiled eggs. They are boiled a long time so that 
they will be crumbly when mashed with a fork. Eggs so 
cooked are easily digested, and they should be sprinkled 
with black pepper. This is all I feed for two days, giv- 
ing them fresh water to drink. Then they are fed Dutch 
cheese, peppered well, and prepared chick feed with 
green onions chopped fine. 

There are no floors in my turke}' coops, but the coops 
are removed every day to new ground. A large shingle 
is kept on which the little turks are fed. It must be 
kept clean, for when it gets dirty they will not eat their 
food from it. They are fed four times a day while they 
are cooped, but only twice while they roam, that is in 
the morning and at night. Some feed small turks too 
often. Their digestive apparatus seems to be very deli- 
cate at first. Overfeeding causes the death of a very 
great many little turks. If one fed them every time they 
come running- they would be eating all the time and they 
cannot stand it. 

BENEFIT TO GROWING CROPS 

Turkeys by nature are prone to wander over the 
fields for a great share of their living, thereby gaining 
a healthy, robust constitution and at the same time rid- 
ding the fields and meadows of grass and weed seeds, 
g-rasshoppers and other insects that are harmful to grow- 
ing crops. This certainly is converting evil into good. 
They will do this in the fall of the year when the corn is 
ripe and never disturb the ears of corn. Mine do, but 
I always feed my turkeys at home some. 

Put the turkey coops near the alfalfa field if yoii 
can and all the day they will roam through the alfalfa 
hunting bug's. It is interesting to watch them and hear 
them chatter away while at work. 

Tlie turkeys that are not fit for breeders are dry- 
picked with the head and feet off and sent to market. 
Out here I received twenty cents a pound and furnished 
the hotels with them. I sell as high as one hxindred and 
fifty pounds to a hotel at a time, so it is easy to get rid 
of all the surplus. I think that the farmer who does not 
lai^p a flock of turkej'S is making a great mistake. 




Seven Hardy and ViilorouB Wild Cockerels 

WILD TURKEYS 

The Hardy Nature of the Turkey has Suffered from InBreeding and Too Intimate Association with Domestic Fowls — Relief Found in 

Return to More Normal Conditions and the Infusion of Wild Blood 



ROBERT LEE BLANTON 




I HE turkey raising' industry has recently suf- 
fered greatly from a multiplicity of diseases 
that liave infested these fowls. Tlie losses 
have been chiefly among' tlie poults. For 
man}- of these diseases, no sure remedy has 
been discovered, and many persons wlio hith- 
erto found this branch of poultry culture 
quite lucrative, have given up the business 
in despair. 
It is almost certain that the originally hardy nature 
of the turkey in the wild state has suffered most from 
too much inbreeding' and from too intimate association 
-with barnyard fowls. Those familiar witli the nature and 
habits of wild turlceys are well aware that these birds 
are the hardiest and most virile of the gallinaceous 
species. They have for several centuries struggled with 
man, beast, birds of prey and the elements so that their 
existence has depended upon the survival of the fittest. 
Thiis it is that only the fittest survive. 

For years I have made a careful study of wild tur- 
lieys in their native haunts. 1 know where they feed, 
what the}' eat, how and where they seek their nesting 
places, how they rear tlieir young' and how they e.scape 
the hunter. 

I have never seen one that seemed to have died from 
any disease, and it is a mistake to believe that the young 
turlvey cannot be raised upon damp ground. I have ob- 
served that they prefer the creek and river bottoms, and 
I have repeatedly seen flocks of young wild turkeys re- 
treat from the rising waters of creeks and rivers after 
prolonged rains, and noticed that they returned to the 
swamps as the water receded. The young feed almost 
entirely upon insects, and swamps with nearby fields and 
^voodlands abound in this kind of food. 

Not only is the wild turkey the hardiest of our na- 



tive gallinaceous birds, but it is also the largest and 
most handsome. No one who has ever seen a magnificent 
gobbler strutting in the sunlight, his rich bronze feathers 
refiecting colors of gold, green, red, jjurple and blue, will 
forget the sight. 1 liave seen males tliat appeared 
to be eight or ten years old, judging from the length of 
their beards and their spurs. Tfte older they are the 
richer their plumage becomes. I recall shooting one 
some years ago that had a beard fifteen inches long and 
spurs an iuch and a quarter in length and almost as 
sharp as those of a game cock. I suspect that I have 
killed as many of these splendid game birds as anyone of 
my age. 

Some years ago I concluded to try an experiment in 
domesticating them. I succeeded in capturing five young' 
ones only a few days old. These I raised ■with a domestic 
turkey that had just hatched her own brood. For- 
tunately, one of these I captured was a male. When they 
were three months old and began to show indications of 
longing for their kindred in the woods, I enticed them 
into an enclosure that I had constructed for' their future 
home. This enclosure was made with six-foot poultry 
wire and was covered with the same material. I made 
the pen tliirty feet wide and a hundred and fifty feet 
long', constructing a roost at one end of the enclosure 
twenty feet high. The following year the hens laid and 
I set the eggs under domestic turkeys and raised quite a 
flock successfully. I then began to enlarge' my enclosure, 
and to construct others similar to the original one. This 
I have done from time to time until now I have three 
acres thus enclosed. The pens are well set in grass and 
clover and are furnished with abundant shade by vines 
and shrubbery. I have now sheds to protect them in bad 
weather. The first birds captured had no protection 
from the 'weather. 



80 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



I hare added to my stock from year to year by cap- 
turing other birds and finding' eggs until I have all the 
varieties except that found in Central America. Our Vir- 
ginia rariety is the largest of all the rarieties. I have 
one gobbler that weighs thirty-eight pounds, and my 
friend, Mr. N. R. Wood, the 
taxidermist for the Smith- 
sonian Institute, agrees 
with me in believing that 
this bird is likely the fijiest 
specimen in existence. Onlj- 
one other of which I have 
read approximates this one 
in size or markings, and 
that one is described by 
Audubon. That one 
weighed thirty-six poionds. 

By judicious mating, I 
have increased the size of 
my birds each year. And 
as I have my pens divided 
in sections, I can mate the 
birds as I please. 

I keep the feed bins 
well supplied at all times 
with corn, oats, kafEir corn, 
grit and charcoal. They 
never lack food, drink or 
shelter. By kind treat- 
ment I can now turn 
out on free range all my 
birds except those most re- 
cently captured. 

I do not allow my wild hens to hatch the young, as I 
have learned that environment is worth more than 
heredity In dealing with both the young of man and other 
animals. I always select the gentlest domestic turkeys 
to do the incubating, and I raise the young on free 
range. I feed them just the same as I would the do- 
mestic turkeys, and I have learned that it is best to feed 
young turkeys ^ery sparingly; in fact they seem to get 
along verj well making their own living. The bug or 



grasshopper that can escape the keen eye of a young 
\vild turkey is indeed fortunate. 

By careful experiments I have found that the wild 
turkeys are not subject to many of the diseases that in- 
fest their domestic cousins. But I am careful to avoid 





A WUd Tom 



Section of Enclosure Sliotvinil Portion of Flock 



inbreeding. Every year since I began breeding them, 
new blood has been added. 

On the fifth of April I -set twenty-one eggs, and 
twenty-eight days after this, twenty healthy poults were 
hatched. They are now giving every indication of sur- 
viving the long rainy season we usually have in May. I 
have two hundred eggs that are due to hatch the lasjfc of 
this month (May). 

The demands for my stock and eggs are so great 

that I can not fill all the 
orders. I am shipping birds 
to foreign countries. On 
the eleventh of this month 
I shall send a pair to Italy. 

The wild turkey can be 
crossed with any domestic 
turkey and the infusion of 
wild blood is sure to add 
vigor to the stock. I would, 
however, advise all those 
who intend purchasing 
wild birds or eggs to be 
sure that they get genuine 
wild and not some that 
have either lost their vir- 
ility by long inbreeding or 
by continued crossing with 
the same domestic turkeys. 

It is my firm belief 
that the hope of the tur- 
key industry depends upon 
the breeding of wild tur- 
keys or upon crossing 
them with the domestic 
turkey. 



THE GREAT MARKET TURKEY 

The Cfaihiis of the Nairagansetts to this Distinction — Inbreeding — Care of Poults — Nine-Year-old Breeders — How to Begin 



S. T. JONES 



'^^f BKEED all x^rieties of turkeys, the Bronze, Nar- 

*"■ rag-ansett, Buff, Slate, White and Black. The 
Whites are the easiest to breed to standard re- 
quirements ^1 account of their color and the Nar- 
rag^nsetts are a close second, because they breed 
so true to color. I find the Bronze are the hardest 
to breed up to the standard, as it is verj' difficult 

to ^t a g-ood color throug-hout and when the birds 

are under a year old they are not 

matured. They are tall, leg-g-y, and 

look lig-ht in the breast. If you breed 

what the public demands, and you 

must do that, you have to breed the 

leg'gy kind, because four out of fire 

letters inquiring for young Bronze 

turkeys demand size. That is the 

cry — size — size — size- "We want them 

good in wing and tail color and 

gfreat, big heavy weight fellows." If 

you breed the plump, early maturing 

kind you cannot make forty or fortj- 

five toms out of them. You must 

breed the big, tall, leggy kind, and 

when the toms are two and three 

three j'ears of age you wil find that 

they will weigh forty, forty-five and 

even forty-eight pounds, and then, 

truly, you have the most magnificent 

bird in America. But the Narragan- 

sett. Buff, White and Slate varieties 

are the best market turkeys, for they 

mature early. The Narragansett 

heads the list and is usually read}- 

for market at five or sis months of 

age.. The Buffs and Whites are next 

in order. The standard weights for 

Narragansett males (thirty, twenty- 
five and twenty pounds) are too high. 

The cocks and cockerels shoulti weigh 

the same as the Buff and Slate tur- 
keys, viz.: Twenty-seven and eighteen pounds, for they 

are short legged, plump and mature early. 

An excellent illustration of the Narragansett turkey 

appears on page nine of this book. 

INBREEDING— RANGE 
I introduce new blood into mj' flock every two or 
three j"ears. I do not think it necessarj- to do so oftener, 
as I keep from two to six flocks of each variety, but I 
never inbreed turkeys, as I find it ^vill not do. I breed 
all the varieties for exhibition, and when getting new 
blood I aim to improve in all sections, both in shape and 
color. The breast, body and back are the most im- 
portant sections in shape and the wings and tail the 
most important in color. We do not raise turkeys in 
confinement. They must have a large range if we are 
to attain best results. I never hftuse mj- turkeys, as I 
think they do better when raised in the open. The 
nearer we come to raising them in the natural way the 
better it is for them. I do not try to fence against them, 
but give them unlimited range. We keep only one va- 
riety on a farm and give that variety the run of the 



A Tonntf M 



entire farm. Turkeys that are hatched in the spring will 
lay the folloAving spring and different turkeys will lay a 
varying number of eggs. The Narragansetts lay more 
than auj' other variety and the Buffs are next. I have 
had turkeys that laid the entire season and did not offer 
to sit, while others will lay from ten to fifteen eggs and 
become broody. We keep from five to eight hens with 
one male, as we think that we get better results as a 
rule than we do if we have a greater 
number of females, though we have 
had from twelve to fourteen hens' 
with one male and the eggs were all 
fertile. Probably 90 per cent of all 
turkey eggs are fertile unless the 
turkeys are overfed, and conse- 
quently are too fat. Let them get 
their own food by roaming over the 
pasture and stubble lands. 

CARE OF POULTS 

It takes from twenty-seven to 
twenty-nine days to hatch turkey 
eggs. We have not tried hatching 
them under hens. For the first 
twenty-four to thirty-six hours after 
they are hatched we feed very small 
grit or gravel, and then we feed clab- 
ber cheese dry and some corn meal.- 
a little millet seed or small cracked, 
wheat. We keep the hen and poults in 
a small pen for eight or ten days and 
then put them out on pasture land. 
They need very little food from this 
on, and should not be fed more than 
once or twice a day for the best re- 
sults. Turkeys get nearly all their 
food from the fields in summer and 
fall. 

Pasture and stxibble land are 
the best places for them to 
run. In the fall begin feeding corn, or, if you are feed- 
ing cattle or hogs, the turkeys will get all the food 
they need, for they always manage to find the feed lots. 
The main secret in successfullv' feeding turkeys is to 
give them their food regularly, but be careful not to 
give too much. More turkeys are fed to death when 
they are j-oung than die from any other cause. Nine out 
of ten breeders feed their poults until they kill them. I 
have had persons tell me what they feed young turkeys 
and then saj': "My turkeys do not seem to grow well, 
and I know I feed them well." I do not see how they 
manage to raise any at all. I am sure I could not if I fed 
as they do. Remember to feed lightly, always using the 
best of food and never feeding any damaged grain at 
all. A bushel of corn will feed a turkey from sixt}- to 
seventy days if it has the range of the farm. The dealers 
want turkeys weighing from ten to sixteen pounds and 
not over twenty pounds. 

.\ PREMIUM ON NARRAGANSETTS 
There is a difference in the quality of turkeys and 
I claim that the Narragansett is king. There are turkeys 




exioan 



82 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



that can beat them on weight, but when it comes to 
quality, no other breed can be compai-ed to them. I sell 
niost of my market turkeys here at home, and sell them 
alive if I can. One firm here buys most of my turkeys 
and they always engag'e all the Narragaii setts I have to 
spare and ask me why I do not breed them exclusively. 
I get a premium of 2 to 2y, cents per pound on Narra- 
gansetts. The Buffs are my next choice. 

Any turkeys that are off in color or the least bit out 
of shape and all of the late hatched and under weight 
turkeys are classed with our market turkeys. Before 
marketing I feed all that they will eat in order to have 
them fat, and market all that are ready at Thanksgiving 
time and the balance of them at Christmas. As a rule, 
yearlings make the best breeders, but I have kept some 
breeders until they were eight or nine years old. 

A turkey is most delicate from the time it is hatched 
until it is six or seven months old. If I were to name 
the two principal causes of the mortality among turkeys 
I should say overfeeding and lice. Thej' should never be 
allowed to live on low, swampy ground. It is not fit for 
turkeys or any other kind of poultry. We raise from 
three hundred to a thousand. 

If I were to embark in the business of raising tur- 
kys and had the benefit of my present experience, I 
should buj' from some reliable breeder a tom and four 
to si.K hens and should insist upon getting good ones. I 
should not begin by bu3ing eggs. I should also insist 
that the tom and hens be not related, and I should never 
inbreed. 



Writing for the Reliable Poultry Journal on the sub- 
ject of turkeys, a prominent eastern poultrjman said 
the following about our favorites: 

"We have always had a particular liking for the Nar- 
ragansett turkey.' It is nearly as large as the Bronze 
and equally as g-ood for the table. Its plumage is very 
striking, giving one the effect of a black and white 
barred plumage; and as a resident of Rhode Island, the 
writer feels that the state which has the beautiful Nar- 
ragansett Bay ought also to breed quite largely the 
beautiful Narragansett turkey. But it does not. Patri- 
otic as Rhode Island is in other respects it does not let 
its patriotism extend to any great extent to its selection 
of turkeys. 

"The Narragansett took its name from the Indians 
who once dwelt here, and was at one time more ex- 
tensivel3' bred in Rhode Island than now. We are reac- 
tionary to the extent of wishing for a return of the good 
old times in turkey raising when the Narragansett tur- 
key was the favorite breed, although, gentle reader, we 
will confess that any Rhode Island turkey, once bred and 
fattened here, if stiiffed with Providence River oysters 
and nicely roasted, has a very satisfactory effect upon 
our jjalate. It may not equal a genuine Rhode Island 
clam-bake, but it comes when clam-bakes cannot he had, 
and it is so good that one can sajs after eating of such 
a dish: 

"Let the world do its worst, 
I have dined today.' " 




A Wild Tom 

This bird is believed to be Ihe largest wild turkey in existence, 
weighs thirty-eight pounds and was two years old at the time [he 
photograph was taken, Note the perfect wing. See page 80. 




MONEY IN TURKEYS FOR THE HOLIDAYS 

Great Magnitude of the Business — How the Commission Men Obtain the Birds— The Care of Turkeys on the Farm — Methods of 
Fattening — Steady Rise of Prices in Recent Years — The Melhods of Killing and Dressing 



FRED HAXTON 




|EE turkey is king-. In November the "Great 
American bird" holds undisputed sway in 
every butcher shop from Maine to Oregon 
and from Canada to Mexico. Not until a 
week after New Year's day does his rule 
expire. 

There is money in raising turkeys for 
the holiday^ trade — lots of it. Going into 
South Water street, Chicago, on an after- 
noon as eacly as November 1 and seeing- drayload after 
drayload of turkejs unloaded, with seemingly no end in 
sight, the spectator departs with the impression that 
enough turkeys are grown in the middle west alone to 
supply every man, woman and child with one for every 
meal .and leave a few thou.sand for the Fiji Islanders and 
other "benighted heathen. 

MAGNITUDE OF THE BUSINESS 

During the holiday rush or preceding it 078,000 tur- 
keys, valued at $1,356,000, are received in Chicago, accord- 
ing to estimates made by a number of prominent poultry 
dealers. The bulk of the business is so great that exact 
ng-ures are impossible, but an idea of its magnitude may 
be secured when it is stated, in the words of the largest 
buyer, "The cars required to contain the turkeys shipped 
to Chicago for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's 
dealers, etc., would make a train seven miles long." 

"It will surprise some people to learn that on hun- 
dreds of farms in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri turkeys 
constitute almost the principal 'crop,' " said a large 
dealer. "Trips of buyers through the turkey country 
show that it is common for one farmer to have 300 tur- 
keys, and flocks of 700 or 800 are not extraordinary. As 
high as $1,000 has been paid for a sing-le consignment of 
turkeys. Nearly 25,000 have been disposed of in Chicago 
•in a single day." 

While warm weather lasts a large part of the ship- 
ments of turkeys received in Chicago are live birds, but 
when the temperature becomes low enough to insure the 
safe keeping of the meat, the fowls come dressed and 
packed in barrels. The production in the middle west is 
about equal in all the states near Chicago, but Missouri 
is the greatest producer in the world. During recent 



years Texas has made remarkable advances in turkey 
raising, the climate during the spring season being espe- 
cially favorable. Marketmen are depending on this 
source of supply for a large increase during the next few 
years. 

Chicago is a strategic point in the turkey trade, for a 
large proportion of the birds sold in New York and other 
eastern cities as "Vermont" and "Rhode Island" fowls 
are shipjjed from the west. Desperate campetition rules 
among- the fourteen firms which ship stock east, as each 
is trying to "corner" the market. One of them almost 
succeeded a few years ago by a novel plan. To each 
dealer or farmer who shipjied to him he allowed a guess 
on the highest price which turkeys would bring at any 
time before New Year's and to the winner he awarded a 
$70 wagon. Many of the commission men offered prizes 
for the same sort of contest later, one of them putting 
up as stakes checks for $100, $75 and $35. 

now TURKEYS REACH THE MARKET 
"How do we get the turkeys?" repeated the proprie- 
tor of a store in front of which were stacked coops con- 
taining nearly 500 birds. "I'll tell you: We have a couple 
hundred regular shippers, some dealers and some farm- 
ers, in country towns. Each spring we write them letters 
pointing out to them that the raising of turkeys is the 
most proiitablc busines.s a farmer can engage in, and 
urging them to be sure to hatch more turkeys than ever 
before. Then late in the summer we write to the men, 
asking them how many turkeys they can provide for the 
holiday trade, and to be sure we will have our fair share 
of the birds we send our buyers out on trips, some of 
them SOO miles long. 

"The buyers visit certain towns where the turkey 
production is enormous, contract wherever possible for 
the purchase of all the fowls, and then drive to the 
farms and see the farmers themselves — or rather the 
farmers' Wives, for we have found that the women are 
the ones who really have the 'say' as to when and where 
the stock will be sold. My head buyer the other day 
handed a Missouri woman $563 for her flock, and she 
said she was saving the money to buy another farm to 
raise more grain to fatten more turkeys with, so as to 



84 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



buy another farm, etc. She finds there Is more money 
and less trouble in turkeys than in hogs." 

METHODS OF REARING 

Letters received by commission men from some of 
their largest growers of turkeys tell the story of their 
success. Some of the hints gleaned from them are: 

Do not try to raise the fowls in small quarters. 
AVherever possible turkeys should have free range. An 
excellent place for the fowls is an orchard, 
with a high fence. They will keep the trees 
almost clear of insect pests and secure a 
good deal of their food in this way. An or- 
chard is an excellent place to keep them 
when the grain is ripening and they would do 
damage. Be sure the breeding stock is large 
and healthy. To avoid close breeding exchange 
toms with a grower who has different stock, 
or buy fine males. Have one torn for every 
dozen fowls or less. 

Turkeys should be allowed ffee range the 
year around, if possible, except when the grain 
is ripening, or even then if they can be kept 
out of the fields. Turkeys like to hide their 
nests, and if they do this there is a strong 
chance that a sudden rain will catch the 
poults and kill them. For this reason the 
hens should be set where they can be kept 
shut in after the poults are hatched. Many 
breeders let the fowl select the place for her 
own nest and then, to protect the turkey 
from rains and the young birds from storms, 
place a V-shaped roof over the nest. In early 
spring the eggs should be removed daily while 
the bird is laj'ing, to prevent chilling, but a 
nest egg should be left. 

After the eggs are hatched care should be 
taken to prevent the chicks from being wet 
or going out in the wet grass, until they have 
grown considerably. Many make runways 
about eight feet long and four feet wide, with the'win^*Jf' 
the top and sides covered with wire netting. t">ck. 
With these a coop four feet long and two feet 
wide is used, having a wooden bottom to prevent the 
poults from being flooded out in case of sudden storms. 
As the runway keeps the mother from wandering it also 
protects the young chicks. This device is in general use 
in the "turkey country." 

Most of the growers permit the turkeys to roost the 
year around, principally because the birds never were 
taught to roost in sheds or houses, but the most suc- 
cessful erect lean-tos against the sides of barns and 
place roosts under them. These are shelters without 
fronts, attached to the buildings at an angle a little 
greater than the middle line of the letter Z. 

When turkeys are allowed free range they do not re- 
quire a great deal of grain or other food in summer, as 
they eat thousands of grasshoppers and other insects. 
The process of finishing them for market generally is 
begun along in August, when some grain is fed. The 
grain feed gradually is increased, until in September the 
birds are given all the corn they will clean up twice a 
day. 

"The finest turkeys we get," said a dealer who makes 
a specialty of fancy birds, "come from farms in Missouri 
where they are penned up about the first of October and 
just stuffed with corn, skim milk and any other feed 
they will relish until about a week before Thanksgiving 



when they are dressed. The yard is about a quarter of 
an acre in size and from 300 to 500 turkeys are fattened 
in it annually. The owner tells me that the corn he 
puts into the turkeys brings him about three times what 
it would fetch in the market; this is in added weight 
alone, not counting the extra price per pound paid him 
l)eoause of the fine condition of his stock." 

Comparatively little of the turkey crop is killed and 
dressed by the farmers. Most of them actually drive 
their stock to market, taking a fiock of a 
,^^ couple hundred or more turkeys and con- 

diicting them to the wholesale purchaser in 
the nearest village or to a point where crates 
are waiting to take them to the nearest large 
city. When the grower is ready to market 
his .stock he generally notifies his dealer in 
Chicago or elsewhere, and the latter imme- 
diately sends by express enough coops to 
contain the shipment. These are taken any 
distance by the express companies for only 
10 cents apiece, which is much cheaper than 
the making of new coops for each shipment 
would be. 

HOW PREPARED FOR MARKET 
In late November and December most of 
the turkeys are dressed in the country. Each 
nf the dealers demands that the fowls be pre- 
pared to suit hira; if they are not, he some- 
times refuses to purchase them at all. Follow- 
ing is the "letter of instruction" sent to each 
targe turkey grower by Geo.McCutcheon& Co.: 

"Keep from food twenty-four hours. Kill 
by bleeding in the roof of the mouth or by 
cutting a vein in the neck; never take off the 
head. Hang by feet until through bleediiig, 
and leave the feet on. Never scajd a turkey. 
Dry-pick while the fowl is still bleeding. Do 
not wait until the body gets cold. Be careful 
not to break the skin; do not draw entrails 
or crop; remove all the feathers from the 
a turkey on thf wings. Remove pin feathers thoroughly. 
Hang in a cool place until the animal heat is 
entirely out. This is very essential. 
"Wrap head of turkeys with clean light brown paper. 
Pack snugly (to prevent moving about) in boxes or bar- 
rels lined with clean paper. Boxes holding 100 to 200 
pounds are best for all fowls. 

Turkeys show up best if the body and legs are 
straightened out. Mark weight plainly on cover, and se- 
cure box carefully to avoid breaking open in transit. It 
.should be noted that dry picked turkeys or other poultry 
is best for shipping in warm or doubtful weather. Poul- 
try frozen will not command as good prices as that 
which is not. Old and heavy tom turkeys should be mar- 
keted before the holidays, as later the demand is for 
round, fat hen turkeys only." 

Another dealer gives this advice: 

"Turkey feathers should be pulled out with a twist. 
A straight pull will 'set' them. Dressed turkeys, when 
dry-picked, always sell better and command a higher 
price, as the appearance is brighter and more attractive. 
Broken ice should be placed all through the barrels — that 
is, a layer of turkeys and a layer of ice broken to the 
size of a fist. Fill the barrels in this manner and then 
on toi) of the turkej's place a large cake of ice. If tur- 
keys are shipped alive, strong coops should be used, as 
they get especially rough handling during the holiday 
rush, and they should be high enough to allow the tur- 
keys to stand up. (Be careful not to overcrowd). 




TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



86 



FEATHERS HAVE A VALUE 
"Save the feathers. They are valuable. We offer the 
following prices per pound: 

Turkey body, dry and choice 6 

Green and little damp 1@ 

White turkey body, dry prime 50 

Tail, choice and clear 40 

Tail mixed with skirt feathers ao@25 

Wing, from first two joints 20 

Wing, tail and pointers 17 

Wing and tail, clear 27 

Wing and pointers 13 

Pointers 7 

"Despite the fact that all dealers agree more turkeys 
have been raised this year than ever before, the prices 
are unusually high. The ten pound Thanksgiving dinner 
that $1.25 would buy a few years ago at a shilling a 
pound was retailed at $2.25 to $2.75 this year. The high 
prices are explained by a tui-key expert as follows: 

"For some time before the Thanksgiving demand 
came the retail butchers catering to select trade were 
placing their orders for turkeys at 23 cents a pound, 
dressed. This means the wholesale price, and as the re- 
tailers iigure out a profit for themselves of 2 or 3 cents 
a pound, the consumer had to pay 23 cents a pound for 
turkeys delivered on these orders. Only the finest birds 
were pre-empted at this high figure, but the average 
range of prices was around 21 or 22 cents. 

"There is an obvious reason for the 'kiting' of the 
price of turkey meat. The current explanation in South 
Water street is that the big stockyards packers and 
other large purchasers go into the country early and 
succeed to a large extent in 'cornering' the turkey mar- 
ket by the expedient of buying up the entire visible 
supply through agents in the choicest turkey raising dis- 
tricts. This is declared to have happened in many states, 
especially Kentucky, Missouri and southern Illinois. It 
is common gossip among the South Water street com- 
mission merchants that the leading packer in the so- 
callfed Chicago 'big-four' combination sent his agents 
into Kentucky a few years ago and purchased virtually 
all the 'turkey futures' — the Thanksgiving crop — in the 
great turkey-producing district known as 'the territory 
north and south of the Ohio river." 

The great Thanksgiving rush begins the Monday be- 
fore Thanksgiving, but preparations for it are made for 
weeks, the birds being killed as fast as received, the sur- 
plus after the daily sales going into coolers. One hundred 
and sixty men were engaged last year in dressing tur- 
keys alone, several large establishments being in the 
business of killing and dressing poultry for other 
dealers. These are known as poultry slaughter houses. 
More than 500 turkeys a day are dressed during the rush 
season for each of the large commission houses. 

The grower of turkeys is sharing in the prosperity 
brought by high prices, but investigation shows the 
wholesale dealer and the retail butcher get a large share 
oi the profits, together sometimes making almost 10 
cents a pound, although their profit generally is around 
6 cents. One of these dealers, talking of the high price 
of poultry, said: 

EXPORT TRADE INCREASING 

"The export trade has grown to immense propor- 
tions in the last few years, turkeys leading in the foreign 
demand. The home trade has grown by leaps and 
bounds at the same time with the foreign business. 

"All the finest American poultry goes to Europe. 



The big packers are the great exporters of American 
turkeys." 

The immense business done in poultry by the "beef 
trust" — amounting to millions of dollars a year — has a 
great effect on the turkey market. S\vift & Co. filled a 
contract for 55,000 pounds of turkey for the United 
States army. 

The price of turkeys varies more than any other kind 
of poultry. In summer the birds sometimes sell as low 
as 13 cents a pound, live weight, and in winter they occa- 
sionally reach eighteen cents, alive. Immediately after 
the New Year's demand is supplied there is a slump in 
prices, and it is then that the speculators buy their stock 
of thousands of birds to be placed in cold storage and 
sold the next summer. The "good prices" for turkeys, 
as the dealers call them, begin to come around No- 
vember 1, when the birds bring about 16 cents a pound, 
live weight. The prices will keep up well this year, prob- 
ably equalling those of last ^vinter. Even last August, 
when turkeys generally are at about their lowest point, 
live birds brought 15 cents a pound. 

During November and December there is a great 
demand for young turkeys, which dress about three to 
five pounds. These bring fancy prices, and the demand 
is not filled. Few are seen in the wholesale markets be- 
cause the growers generally contract directly vnth 
butchers to take off their hands all they can raise. Such 
stock has sold for 22 cents a pound, dressed. The smal- 
ler of the baby turkeys, as they are called, were used 
as "fryers," and those that weighed four pounds or more 
were roasted. The bulk of the old turkeys that come to 
the market weigh about 12 to 15 pounds apiece, but sev- 
eral that tipped the scales at more than thirty-five 
pounds were seen in the stores last fall. The extremely 
large turkeys, however, are not in great demand, as they 
are too heavy for family dinners and difficult to roast 
when bought by hotels. 

A FAMOUS GROWER 

The most famous groM'er of turkeys in the United 
States is Horace Vose, of Westerly, Rhode Island. Mr. 
Vose last year followed his annual custom of sending a 
Thanksgiving turkey to the president of the United 
States, a custom which he began in Gen. Grant's first 
term. He has avitograph letters of thanks from all the 
presidents since then. Mr. Vose goes to a great deal of 
trouble to get the president's Thanksgiving dinner. Be- 
sides growing turkeys he deals in them, and after the 
chicks have been hatched a month or two he makes a 
tour of the farms for miles around. If he sees a particu- 
larly fine chick be secures an option on it, and directs 
that it be given special care. He makes other visits later 
in the season and bids for every fine turkey that he 
sees. When Thanksgiving approaches the Rhode Islander 
has control of practically all the finest birds for miles 
around. He is the largest shipper of turkeys for the 
New York market. This is Mr. Vose's philosophy: 

"The object of fattening a turkey is to produce firm, 
finely flavored, luscious fiesh. Therefore it should be fat- 
tened on whole corn — not meal — as the corn gives a 
firmer consistency to the flesh. It should never be stuffed 
artificially or confined in close quarters. If sweet apples 
are available they may be fed, as nothing will give a 
nicer flavor to the flesh." 

"In July and August growers near fashionable re- 
sorts sometimes sell turkey 'broilers,' weighing from 1% 
to 4 pounds each, for $3.50 to $4 a pair," writes Helen W. 
Atwater, government food expert. 

The last government report shows there are 6,599,- 



86 



TURKEYvS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



367 turkeys in the United States, of which only 529,993 are 
in the North Atlantic states— Ehode Island, Maine, Ver- 
mont, etc. The bulk of the turkeys in the counti-y are 
in the north central states, which have 3,072,456, while 
the far western states have only 304,950. 

MACHINE FATTENING TURKEYS 

The London Board of Agriculture reports srreat .suc- 
cess in fattening turkeys with a cramming machine. A 

mash of equal parts of 
ground barley, corn and 
(luts. with a small 
amount of melted fat 
and linseed meal was 
used, enough skim milk 
being added to make it 
the c o n s i s te n c y of 
cream. At first there 
was difficulty in feeding 
the turkeys, owing to 
their size and strength, 
but the operator finally 
overcame this by plac- 
ing the fowls on a low 
stand so that their 
heads were on a level 
with the nozzle of the 
cramming machine. It 
is stated that "after a 
day or two the turkeys 
became accustomed to 
this manner of feeding, 
and when meal times 
came they showed much 
eagerness to mount the 
stand and receive their 
share of the food." The 
feeding period covered 
three weeks; the liirds 
were hatched in the 
spring and weighed an 
average of seventeen 
p o u ti d s apiece, and 
made an average gain 




Fig. 2. — Breast view showing metliod of 
tying legs and pushing head under wiug. 



of four ijoimds four 
ounces. This was done at a cost of 41 cents per head. 

Proof that turkeys fatten much better when kept in 
pens has been secured by the Manitoba experiment sta- 
tion. It took two lots of bird.s, exactly alike and gave 
them the .same rations for six weeks, two parts of wheat, 
one of oats, and one of barley. At the end of the test it 
was found the turkeys in the pens had gained an average 
of a trifle over four pounds each, while those allowed 
their liberty added only a little more than 1% pounds 
each to their weight. Most of the gain was made in the 
first three weeks. The penned turkeys when dressed 
shrank 5 per cent less than the others and were more 
attractive in every way. 

TURKEYS SENT TO ENGLAND 
Canada does an immense amount of business in ex- 
porting turlieys to England. The Canadian commis- 
sioner of agriculture gives the following description of 
the proper way to prepare the birds for the British mar- 
ket, which is extremely exacting in its requirements: 

"The bird is hung up by the legs, the wings being 
crossed to prevent struggling. Next it is given a sharp 
blow on the back of the head \vitli a stout piece of 
wood, which renders it insensible. The knife is then in- 
serted into the roof of the mouth, so as to pierce the 



brain, cutting it along- the entire length. The bird is left 
banging by the legs for a few minutes to allow the blood 
to drain out. Pluck at once, while still warm. Feathers 
should be left on the neck for about 3 inches from the 
head; also a few feathers on the tail and tips of wings. 
Do not tear the skin in plucking, and do not under any 
circumstances dip the bird into water. Remove the in- 
testines from the rear. Care must be taken not to break 
the gall bag. All the rest may be left inside. Twist the 
wings on the Ijack of the bird (111.1). A string, which, 
however, should not encircle the body, may be used to 
keep them in place. As soon as the feathers are off, hang 
the bird up by the feet to cool. Do not lay it down or 
hang it by the head. The blood should drain toward the 
head and Ijecome coagulated there. One dealer says to 
lay the birds on their breasts on a setting board, pressing' 
the rumps square, letting the heads hang down until the 
body is set. when the birds ^vill always retain their 
plump shape. Cleanliness is necessary. The feet and legs 
of the birds should be clean also. The legs of the 
dressed birds are often tied up as in illustrations 2 and 
3 If the birds are to be displayed in a shop the head 
should be pushed up under the wing. The birds should 

be thoroughly cooled (not 

frozen), and they should be 

cold through and through 

before being packed in cases. 
"Pack in any one case 

only birds of nearly the same 

weight, graded to within two 

pounds. In no case should 

any bird be lighter than the 

lightest weight or heavier 

than the heaviest weight 

marked on the package. Pack 

the cocks and hens in separ 

ate cases. Mark the cases at 

both ends plainlj-. Wrap every 

bird neatly in paper. The 

head of each bird should be 

wrapped with a quantity of 

thick paper, to absorb any 

blood. Spread a small quan- 
tity of wood pulp or dry. 

clean straw in the bottom of 

the ca.se. Put jjaper on the 

bottom and top of the birds 

to keep them clean. .\ small 

quantity of wood pulp or dry, 

clean straw may be put on 

top, directly under the cover. 

Pack the birds with backs 

down, with heads at one side. 

Put from twelve to twenty- 
four birds in a case. -Every case 

should be packed quite full 

and close to prevent damage 

during transit. Do not export . , „.j . . . 

"^ ^ Kig. 3.— Side view showing 

any old, tough birds. Every method of tying legs and pushing 

show a good, head under wing. 




bird should 
plum]). Avhite 



broad breast." 



TURKEY C.ROWING PROFITABLE 
There is more money in raising turkeys now than 
there ever was before and there will be more next year, 
for the trend of prices is irresistibly upward, market ex- 
]ierts declare. The figures for several years, furni-shed 
the Reliable Poultry Journal by Howard, Bartels & Co., 
official statisticians for the Chicago poultry dealers, 
jioint out clearly the great advance in the wholesale mar- 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



87 



ket prices of turkeys in the last ten years. In the table 
below the prices from April to October, inclusive, are for 
live birds, as hardly any dressed turkeys are shipped in 
summer owing to the danger of spoiling. Where there 
is a wide variation in prices during the month the bulk 
of the birds were sold nearer the higher figure than the 
lower. Prices quoted for January, February, March, No- 
vember and December are for dressed turkeys: 

The quotations in the accompanying table are for the 
common run of stock, fancy turkeys being disposed of at 
special prices. The following table will show the gradual 
rise in prices for a ten year period. The figures for 1907-8 
were unobtainable: 



nearly all of the 4,000,000 pounds went to the New Eng- 
land markets and to the smaller eastern cities. 

As a rule the birds grown in Kentucky are not of 
large average size, W. T. Seibels of the Packer says, and 
for this reason they are most desirable for buyers of 
large lots for holiday distribution by commercial con- 
cerns and large factories, to their employees. The average 
size of the hen turkeys is about 8 pounds, and toms run 
from 10 to 13 pounds. Ten thousand pounds are put in 
a refrigerator car, and whole trainloads are shipped at 
once. 

The Kentucky association each year meets to fix the 
price which it will demand from the wholesale buyers, 



Month 



January . . . 
February.. 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September 
October 
November- . 
December. 





1906 






17 


to 18 


18 


to 19 


16 


to 17 




124 


11 


to 124 


10 


tol24 


11 


to 124 


12 


to 18 


13 


to 16 


13 


to 16 


164 to 21 



1905 



1904 



17 to 19 
19 to 20 
19 
14 to 15 
14 to 15 
134 to 16 

14 to 15 

15 

15 to 16 
13 to 17 

16 to 18 
16 to 174 



16 to 174 
16 to 174 
16 to 17 
11 to 12 

11 to 12 
10 to 12 
10 to 114 

12 to 17 
12 to 14 

12 
15 to 18 
14 to 17 



1903 



17 to 18 
18 
15 to IS 
12 to 13 
10 to 12 
10 to 12 
10 to 11 
11 

10 to 11 

11 to 14 
15 to 18 
15 to 174 



1902 



84 to 12 
94 to 144 
10 to 15 
9 to 124 
94 to 124 

10 to 12 
114tol2 

12 to 124 

13 

11 to 13 
10 to 16 

13 to 18 



1901 



74 to 9 
74 to 94 
7 to 12 
64 to 8 
6 to 84 
54 to 74 
6 to 74 

6 to 8 

7 to 9 
7 to 84 
7 to 10 



9 to 114 



1900 



9 to 10 
84 to 10 
8 to 12 
74 to 10 
6 to 9 

5 to 
54 to 
6 
7 

6 to 9 
6 to 104 
8 to 94 



7 
7 

to 74 
to 8 



1899 



8 toll 
S toll 

5 to 13 

8 to 10 
7 to 10 

6 to 9 

7 to 84 
74 to 10 

8 to 12 
84 to 10 

9 toll 

9 to 104 



1898 



10 toll4 
94 to 12 
94tol24 
8 to 12 
6 to 9 

5 to 8 

6 to 8 

6 to 10 

7 toll 

7 toll 

8 toll4 
8 toll 



1897 



8 to 124 
8 to 124 
8 to 13 
9 
6 to 9 

5 to 7 

6 to 10 

7 to 10 
74 to 10 

8 to 10 
8 to 104 
8 tola 



1896 



8 to 12 

9 to 134 

13 
8 to 12 
7 to 10 

6 to 9 

7 to 10 

8 toll 
S toll 
74 to 94 

9 to 114 
104 to 114 



Think of live turkeys selling- in the Chicago market 
at 51/2 cents a pound, after express had been paid on them 
for hundreds of miles, and figure out what would be left 
to the grower! This was done in June, 1901. Think of 
dressed turkeys bringing only 7 cents a pound, which 
occurred in November, 1900, and figure how much less 
would be left to the shipper! In fact, 1901 was a "black 
year" for turkey men, the highest price on dressed stock 
being only llVa cents, and the average for the year not 
more than a dime a pound. The prices given in the table 
are those paid to shippers, and not those at which the 
wholesalers sold the stock to dressers and meat mar- 
kets. 

The change from 6-ceuts-a-pound dressed turkeys 
was especially marked two years ago, when on November 
13 — before the Thanksgiving demand was hardly more 
than started, dressed turkeys were bringing the country 
shippers 10 to 18 cents a pound when even in fair condi- 
tion, while choice stock commanded its own price. A 20- 
cent market was expected by many, and this means that 
the butchers would have to pay 23 cents upward for their 
turkeys and the city con.sumers from 26 to 29 cents a 
pound. 

"Baby" turkeys were in especial demand that fall, 
and not one-tenth of the call for them could be met. 
These weighed around 5 pounds, some even reaching nine 
pounds, and found a ready market at 20 cents up, at 
wholesale. 

KENTUCKY TURKEY ASSOCIATION 

One thing that is increasing the price of turkeys was 
the formation of the Kentucky Turkey Association, in 
1906, with headquarters at Lexington. This is composed 
of about fifty of the largest dealers in turkeys in the 
southern "turkey country," a single one of whom handles 
more than 250,000 each Thanksgiving season and the 
smallest one of whom handles 65,000 pounds each fall. 
From meagre proportions the turkej' industry has gro-svn 
to such size in the country around Lexington that 4,000,- 
000 pounds of the birds were contracted for to supply the 
holiday trade in 1906. Dressing in Kentucky for the 
Thanksgiving demand was begun November 10, and 



and during the year of 1900 disposed of the entire lot to 
.-Vrmour & Co., of Chicago. The association also tries to 
fix the price to be given the farmers, a frank admis.sion 
of this fact being made in this statement after the meet- 
ing: 

"The association met also to set the price that the 
buj'ers should pay for the turkeys. Nothing definite was 
given out, but the principal line of talk was that the 
farmers would be ^laid 10 cents a pound, live weight. With 
a stronger demand this might be increased to 11 cents in 
the country, which would mean about 12 or 13 cents at 
the pens (the points where the turkeys are confined until 
they are shipped alive or are dressed.)" 

The farmer gets it in the neck every time, even from 
the "turkey trust." Oklahoma is coming to the front as 
a turkey raising state, the crop of 1907 amounting to 
5,000 head, for most of which the farmers got 12 to 13 
cents a pound, live weight. 

"Poor stock is what keeps the market down on all 
kinds of ■ poultrj', but especially on turkeys," said Mr. 
Seibels. "If a shipper sends a lot of poor birds in with a 
large shipment of extra fine ones, the whole consignment 
will bring 2 or 3 cents a pound less than it would if he 
had kept the bad stuff at home. Dealers lay stress on 
the point that only good stock would be marketed, and 
agree that it is best to keep the poor, stringy birds in 
the country and fatten them up until they are fit to ap- 
I^ear in the best markets and meet the highest class 
demand. Most of the regular shippers Itnow this and act 
accordingly, but some lose their better judgment and 
send stock that has no business being shipped. 

LIVE POULTRY' PREFERRED 

"The whole ijoultry business is being- revolutionized, 
I believe, by I he present cold storage trouble. Within a 
short time, present indications are, the bulk of the 
poultry sent to market will be shipped alive and will be> 
bought alive by the butchers, who ^vill kill the birds to 
order thus proving to the customer that they have not 
been in cold storage. Owing to fear that the city health 
commissioner, Dr. Charles J. Whalen, would cause trouble 
for them, few of the dealers put turkeys in storage this 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



year, and as a result neai-lj' all the stock sold for the 
Thanksgiving: market came directly from the farms." 

A commission of 5 cents on the dollar is charged by 
dealers in almost every city for selling stock for country 
shippers, and if the birds are sent alive a charge of 10 
cents a crate is made for hauling them from the train to 



is nailed round both ends and the middle of the coop to 
keep the other strips from loosening. 

For packing turkeys to go into cold storage or for 
the eastern market the style of box vchich is most in 
favor is 24 by 26 by 15 inches. This will hold twrelve young 
toms, or six young toms and eight hens, or 16 hen tur- 




Melhods of Killing and Plucking Turkeys 

2— First stage in the operation of dressing. Operator holds the bird between his legs, pulls neck upward and back, and cuts a vein in the 
neck with a razor-edged knife. 3— Another way of killing by wringing the neck. This to b= done successfully requires a knacU that comes only 
by long practice. The birds wings are drawn together over its breast and the body is held between the knees. A sudden twist and jerk dislo- 
cates the neck and the fowl is dropped to the floor. 4— This operation follows that shown in illustration 3. The dresser is dry- plucking the tur- 
K-^ j' *''''^*' '^^^^ '" required in the operation in order that the appearance of the fowl be not damaged. 5 Dressing a turkey by scalding. The 
birds are dropped two at a time into a metal vessel holding a barrel of water. This method is quicker than dry-picking but destroys the value 
of the feathers. 6— The dressing tables to which the turkeys go after being scalded. 



the wholesale market. The .standard poultry coop, used 
in all the markets in the country, is four feet long, 30 
inches ^vide and a foot high for chickens and dxicks, and 
15 to 18 inches high for turkej-s and geese. For broilers 
it is two feet vride and 10 inches high. The crates must 
be built substantially. Pieces two inches square should 
be used for the corner posts, and half inch boards should 
be nailed on the bottom, which is tight. Strips of lath 
a half inch thick and two inches wide are used for the 
sides, top and ends, being placed an inch and a half apart. 
Two laths are left loose on the top for a door, and lath 



keys. The boxes should be lined with clean white or 
parchment paper and the stock should be carefully 
graded, and classified as No. 1, No. 2, Fancy, Culls, etc. 
For storing poultry a quarter of a cent a pound is 
charged for the first sixty days or less and after that 
time an eighth of a cent a pound for each month. Eighty 
jier cent of the value of the goods put in storage will be 
advanced to the owner by the warehouse company or by 
banks. 

Baby turkeys, 3 to 6 pounds each, should be marketed 
from August 1 to Oct. 15. 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



89 



PLUCKING AND DRESSING 

The pluckers of turkeys are paid high wages, some of 
them earning $20 a week. Many of them are paid regiilar 
wages, but most work by the piece, getting generally 5 
cents a head. There were only twenty-five women, 
against two or three hundred men, dressing turkeys in 
Oicago the season of 1907. The women are all Italian or 
Bohemian immigrants or negresses. Several years ago, 
Z. E. Stewart stated, it was customary to employ women 
altogether, but when the Poultry Pickers' union came 
into existence it issued a dictum against it and every man 
refused to work with a woman picker. The union's exist- 
ence has ceased, but women are not wanted. As the 
president of the union said: 

"Dressing poultry by wholesale is no fit work for any 
woman. Where scalding is done none of them can endure 
it. Standing in water all day in a room filled with steam 
and then going on the street in the cold is not exactly 
what you would call health promoting. The men all get 



sick at it, and they're a pretty tough lot of fellows, too. 
Nobody can stick to it more than two years." 

In the room where the turkey plucking was done in 
one of the largest plants the women wore wooden shoes 
to protect their feet from the water used in scalding 
other poultry, and their dresses and hair were covered 
with feathers. The women were Italians and said they 
were paid $14 a week each and handle 800 chickens or 
200 apiece daily, although they do not do all the work. 
The men, called tipi^ers, take off all the heavy feathers 
and pass the fowls to the women for finishing. The lat- 
ter do the "pinning," as it is called, taking off all the 
down and small feathers. If they find it impossible to 
remove a refractory feather without tearing the skin, 
they cut it off close with a razor-edged knife. For pin- 
ning a dry picked turkey the employees get 3 cents each, 
and often finish 100 in a day. For pinning a chicken, if 
they are not working bj' the week, they get II/2 cents 
each. 



KILLING, PLUCKING AND MARKETING TURKEYS 

The Money Value of Attractive Appearance in Market — Manner of Killing and Plucking — Saving the Feathers for an Added Profit- 
Cooling and Cleaning the Carcass — Packing for Shipment to Dealers— Dressing and Packing for the Family Trade — 
High Prices Obtained from Private Customers — Advantage of ICnowing the Market 



H. A. NOURSE, 




GREAT deal depends on the manner in which 
turkeys are killed and prepared for market. 
Frequently it makes the difference in price 
between the highest and lowest quotations. 
Be the live specimen ever so fat and well 
fleshed, if it is carelessly picked and im- 
properly packed it is often passed by for a bird not quite 
so well fattened, but presenting a better appearance 
w^he'n it reaches the market stalls. Obviously no pro- 
ducer can afford to send to market any bird that is not 
in good condition. 

It is not difficult to properly flesh and fatten healthy 
turkeys. If they can be confined in a covered pen of 
good size, without becoming worried and losing their ap- 
petites, they will take on the most flesh, for the grain 
fed, in the shortest time. But young ones that have 
been accustomed to a viild life upon a large range do 
not take kindly to confinement and can seldom be im- 
proved if enclosed. 

As the supply of bugs and other food gets short in 
the fields the old hens will lead the j'oung- birds to the 
feeder and a good ration of whole corn each day for two 
or three weeks vdll put them in good flesh, wth sufficient 
fat to give the meat and skin a bright, attractive appear- 
ance. 

There is a flavor belonging to the meat of a range 
fed and fattened turkey that cannot be found in one 
raised in confinement or one that has spent its days near 
the buildings eating \vith the chickens. The diet of 
grass, roots and berries not only produces flesh at less 
cost per pound, but improves the quality. 

Before killing, the stock should be kept for eighteen 
hours in a clean, airy place where no food can be ob- 
tained. They may have water up to within eight hoxirs 
of the time of killing, for water gives a healthy look to 
Ihe skin and assists in cleansing the digestive organs of 
matter which would become sour and taint the flesh. A 



short, stout club, a long, sharp steel blade, a strong arm 
and a quick hand are required for the operation of 
killing. 

THE MANNER OF KILLING AND PLUCKING 

The bird should be suspended head downward with 
its feet in a noose of strong cord, far enough from the 
walls of the house and other objects so that it cannot in- 
jure its wings when it struggles — as most of them do at 
some time. After stunning by dealing a sharp blow at 
the base of the skull ^vith the club, pass the left arm 
around the body of the fowl under the wings, which 
usually drop down when the bird is stunned and the 
muscles relax, holding the side of the breast towards 
you. Grasp the head in the left hand and forcing the 
bill open vnth the thumb and fore fingers, thrust the 
knife blade in through the mouth to just back of the 
brain and make a sharp cut directly across the roof of 
the mouth, severing the arteries. Then holding the bird 
firmly with the left arm and hand in the same position, 
begin at once to remove the feathers with the right 
hand, beginning at the juncture of neck and breast and 
working up over the breast and body, then giving the 
bird a turn which presents the back to the operator, 
begin at the neck or between the wings and pluck to- 
wards the tail. The short feathers of wings, tail, shanks 
and neck are picked next and the long feathers of the 
wings and tail, if removed at all, are plucked last. As a 
rule the feathers of the last joint of each wing are left 
on and are much appreciated by the purchaser of the 
bird to use about the kitchen in place of brushes. The 
long feathers of the tail are removed or not as the 
market for which they are intended requires. 

While the skin of a tui-key is less likely to be torn 
when removing the feathers than that of a chicken or 
duck, it is needful to be careful and none but exper- 
ienced pickers can safely attempt to hurry the work. 
The thumb and forefinger do most of the work by firmly 



90 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



grasping- a few leathers and removing them bj' a quick 
jerk which begins upward toward the tail and ter- 
minates outward, which movement is accomplished by a 
quick twist of the wrist. This motion first loosens the 
feathers in their sockets by starting them the way they 
grow and then removes them at an angle which is least 
likely to tear the skin. 

A well grown turkey is very powerful and requires 
to be held firmly yet with due care, for if the wings are 



Most markets do not 
drawn, while some will pay 




MoKinley 

A Superb Bronze Turkey, that was stnt to President McKinley by Horace Vose 
years has each season presented the President of the Inite'd States with 

grasped by their extremities or are held too firmly in 
any position the bird may struggle and break or wrench 
them out of joint, making the carcass unfit for sale. 

Careful handling after picking is very desirable, for 
a bruise will cause discoloration which is very detrimental 
to the ajjpearance of the flesh in market. 

SAVING THE FEATHERS 
If many birds are killed it pays to save the feathers, 
especially those of the tail and wings. Those of the tail 
propej- and the two lovier joints of the ^vings are salable 
at fifteen to thirty cents per pound and can be saved by 
no more extra labor than is required to toss them into 
a clean receptacle when picking and later dry them by 
spreading upon the floor of a loft where there is a good 
circulation of air. The shorter and body feathers seldom 
command more than 4 to 6 cents per pound and most 
turkey men do not care to save them for so little re- 
muneration. 



COOLING AND CLEANING THE CARCASS 

Marketing is usually done in the cold weather of late 
fall and during the winter the cooling can be done by 
hanging the picked turkeys in the open air, out of the 
sun, long enough to allow the escape of all animal heat, 
but not long enough to freeze or become stiff if the 
temperature is low. 

require the turkeys to be 
less per pound for stock so 
prepared. It is always best 
to find what j'our market 
wants before killing, for if 
drawn turkeys are shipped 
^vhere undrawn stock is 
wanted the loss on a con- 
signment is considerable. 
Feet and heads should be 
washed clean and wiped drj- 
and all blood removed from 
the mouth and throat. If 
care is iised when killing and 
handling it will not be neces- 
sary to wash the body of 
the bird and the skin will re- 
tain its bright, yellow ap- 
pearance longer than it 
would if dampened or if 
cooled in water rather than 
by the air. 

TACKING TO SHIP 

Packing is as important 
an operation as picking, but 
not so tedious. All consign- 
ments should be packed 
tightly, not jammed, in clean 
boxes and sufficient packing- 
put in before the cover is 
nailed on to prevent shift- 
ing enroute. Birds of dif- 
ferent sizes, but not of dif- 
ferent qualities, may be 
packed in the same box and 
the contents of the package 
should be correctly de- 
scribed on the outside of 
the cover. If the descrip- 
tion says "Ten young toms 
and ten young hens" and 
the dealer, on opening- 
the box finds one old torn and perhaps some old hens, 
he of course loses confidence in the shipper and does 
not dare to recommend his goods. But if the contents 
of the package never fail to tally with the description 
the goods are satisfactory to handle and the returns as 
a rule are better. Large boxes are inconvenient to handle 
and less desired by small dealers than boxes weighing- 
from one hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds and 
the smaller packages require to be packed less solidly 
and the contents show less evidence of hard pressure in 
the box. If the market catered to favors drawn stock it 
it easiest done before the bird is hung up to cool. The 
incision made should be as .small as possible. A sharp 
knife .should be used to cut the skin close around the 
vent and cut away the fat around the intestine, making- 
an opening into the cavity. 



who for more than Ihirty-tive 
a Thanksgiving Turkey. 



Thrcmgh this the entrails must be drawn carefully, 
llie operator reaching with his fingers into the cavity to 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



91. 



free the upper end from its attacliineiit. 
need be removed. 



DRESSING AND PACKING FOR PRIVATE TRADE 

If the stock is intended for a high price family trade, 
all the birds should be picked and handled with extreme 
care, the intestines drawn and the shanks and feet and 
the head removed. When cutting- off the heads consider- 
able blood will frequently be found clotted in the neck 
and unless removed it will turn black and show throug-li 
the skin. If it happens that there 
is any food left in the crop it is 
wise to remove it before cooling. 
This is accomplished by pushing- 
back the skin of the neck and 
working the crop out under it with 
the thumb and fore finger, taking- 
care not to tear the crop in separ- 
ating it from the tissues surround- 
ing it. Removing the crop does not 
leave the breast looking- quite so 
well as when the crop is empty 
and left in because its absence al- 
lows the skin to sink deeper in 
front of the breast bone; but jf 
the food remains it will show 
black through the skin and mar 
the appearance of the liird. The 
skin should be drawn well over the 
end of the neck and tied with a 
clean string. Each carcass when 
thoroughly c o o le d should lie 
wrapped in clean wrapping paper 
and packed in excelsior in a clean, 
new wooden box to be shipped to 
the consumer's kitchen door. I'a- 
per without much color should be 
used or at the end of the journex 
the 'color will be found to have de- 
serted the paper to cling to the 
skin of the turkey, which will give 
it more the appearance of the "tat- 
tooed man" in a circus than that 
of the mainstay of a iamily feast. 

The family trade is usually 
very profitable, paying well for the 
extra labor and other expense in- 
volved. One establishment, noted 
for the show room quality of its 

turkeys, has been furnishing pri\ate customers in sev 
eral states -with Thanksgiving and Christnias turkeys of 
the finest grade for several years. These are prepared 
and siiipped in the manner described above, the weight 
is taken as soon as the feathers are off and the bills for 
them call for thirty-five cents a pound. No exceptional 
ability is needed to figure that there is money earned 
by properly growing and fattening, and carefully i^ick- 
ing, packing and shipping turkeys at that price. 

FINISH KILLING AT NEW YEAR'S 

It is well to kill all stock unsalable for breeiling or 
exhibition at or before the New Year. Occasionally, 
however, the poultryman will be caught with a few very 



Nothing- else late hatcliccl pniilts presented by some wily old lii-ri that 
hid her nest so well and was so cautious in her "comings 
and goings" that it was not discovered until she brought 
off a brood contrary to her owner's wishes and inten- 
tions. Some breeders kill these late hatched ones on 
sight, believing that it is nothing- but time wasted to 
look after them. Others allow them to run with the hen 
until cold weather and then house them with the chick- 
ens, giving them the same care. They appear to do bet- 
ter -when confined in cold weather than in warm, but 




The Thanksiivinii Turkey 

Illustrated on the opposite page, dressed and ready for shipment to President McKinley. Mr. Vose, the 

donor, is holding also another choice specimen, which he has just dressed, to 

assist in balancing the weight of the larger one. 

them seem to breed lii-e faster than chicks and must be 
continually (lusted for body lice and their heads and 
necks greased frc<iiiently to discourage the head lice. If 
the youngsters take kindly- to confinement they will 
make very good growth and sell readily in the spring to 
the trade calling for small sized turkeys. These birds 
should never be kept for breeding, for they seldom make 
very strong birds and do not molt in the proper season. 

Every turkey raiser who markets any considerable 
number each year can well afford to study his market 
closely; to find just what it wants and when it will pay 
most for it, and then bend his energies to furnishing the 
right stock at the right time. 

Marketing- ofti-n determines the profit. 



CATCHING, HANDLING, AND SHIPPING TURKEYS 

BuUdlng a Trapping Pen for Separation of the Flock — Using the Catching Net — Training for Exhibition— Coops 

for Local and Foreign Shipments 

H. A. NOUBSE 



»T IS wise to separate from the flock in the fall the 
birds intended for sale, as constant raiding- of the 
flock for birds to ship not only keeps the breeders 
wild and suspicious, but makes it extremely diffi- 
cult to make an intelligent selection. 

The best device for "rounding up" that I have 
seen is a covered yard or trap about thirty feet long and 
twenty feet wide. Sometimes this may be built between 
two of the farm buildings, using the buildings for the 
two sides, thus avoiding the necessity of setting posts 
and erecting sides of the enclosure. The poultry netting 
which forms the toj) and one end of the trap may be 
stretched between the buildings and fastened to them, 
supported by several pieces of heavj' single wire drawn 
tig-htly from one building to the other. The other end, 
which is the entrance to the trap, is left open and pro- 
vided with a drop which will be described later. The tur- 
keys will not distrust the farm buildings and will more 
readily enter a trap between them than one separate 
from them. A wing should be constructed of poultry 
netting five feet high to extend from one corner of the 
entrance to a distance of fifty feet outward or away 
from the trap, to form an extension of the .side, unless 
one of the buildings happens to be so extended. The 
turkeys may be driven gentl3' along the side of the build- 
ing' towards the entrance and wing, and an occasional 
handful of corn may be thrown down to occupy their 
attention until they are at the entrance to the trap. 
Here the vring on the far side of the entrance prevents 
them going beyond and they may be quickly turned into 
the enclosure. 

Constructing a trap in an open lot \vith no building 
is quite different. Four strong posts should be set up 
to form the corners of a space say thirty feet long and 
twenty feet wide and no other wood should be used. The 
posts may well be old ones, or those not carefully 
trimmed, and with the bark left on, so that there will 
be little about them to attract attention and arouse the 
turkej^s' suspicions. It is not best to use bright wire or 
to turn up much earth for the same reason. The posts 
should stand five feet above the ground and have a heavy 
single vrire like stock fence wire, stretched around 
their tops and also diagonally across the tops from 
corner to corner to support the ware netting which is 
stretched over it in forming the top of the trap. 
More netting is stretched around the sides and 
one end. This is tightly wired to the top and its lower 
edg-e is firmly pegged to the ground. One end is left 
open to serve as an entrance and is rigged with a drop. A 
piece of netting large enough to cover the open end is 
loosely wired to the strand of heavy stock fence at the 
top of the entrance. At the opposite side of this netting, 
which reaches to the groxmd, a heavy cord is attached, 
put through pulleys at the base of the entrance posts 
and carried to a distance of sixty or seventy-five feet di- 
lectly in front of the entrance. By pulling these cords 
the drop will be hauled from a position on top of the 
trap down over the front, closing the entrance. Two 
wings ^vill be required for this trap, for there is no 
building to assist in guiding the turkeys in. These 



wings, or leaders, as fishermen would call them, should 
extend from each side of the entrance, spreading lat- 
erally to form a sort of funnel into the large end of 
which the turkeys may be toled and then driven into the 
trap. 

The posts supporting the structure must be set 
deeply in the ground and all the wire stretched very 
tightly or it will be pres.sed out of shape by the flock 
running against it when trying to get out. Sometimes 
the trap may be built in a grove, of trees and the trunks 
of trees used in place of posts, at the same time secur- 
ing the benefit of the branches and possible low brush 
as a 'screen to partially hide the trap. If it is convenient 
the turkeys should be given their daily allowance of 
grain in this pen and when it is necessary to handle 
them the drop can be closed and the flock confined, thus 
avoiding the necessity of driving them in; but if they 
are trapped too often they will not go in, and cannot be 
driven or coaxed. Three times in a season should be 
enough to do all the selecting necessary. 

CATCHING THE BIRDS 
For the actual capture a net of heavy twine eighteen 
inches deep hung on a stout iron ring eighteen inches in 
diameter, which is attached to a handle seven or eight 
feet long, is the best contrivance I know of. This if put 
suddenly over the head of the bird and quickly drawn 
back will hold it so securely that it cannot struggle and 
damage its feathers. Always grasp the turkey by the 
shanks. If by mistake you take hold of the thigh almost 
every feather will be stripped off. After obtaining a 
firm hold, quickly remove the net and swing the bird 
clear of all objects until it stops struggling; then, re- 
taining the hold on the shanks, take the turkey under 
one arm in such a way that its wings will be held tightly 
against its sides. This has no application when the bird 
is tame enough to be easily handled, which, however, is 
not often the case with turkeys on wide range. 

PREPARING FOR EXHIBITION 
The preparation of the turkey for the show room 
consists principally in taming and training- the subject to 
appear to the best advantage in the coop. If the birds 
are wild it requires some days to teach them to pose. 
For this purpose large coops covered with canvas, or in 
some manner constructed so that the bird cannot cut 
or bruise its head trj'ing to get out, should be provided 
in a light, well ventilated room, without drafts, where 
the temperature ranges but few degrees higher than out- 
side. 

Fronts of strong slats or rods having no sharp edges 
or rough surfaces, with doors of generous size, are bet- 
ter than those of wire because they offer more chance 
to make friends of the birds confined and less oppor- 
tunity for the occupants to injure themselves by dashing 
against it, as they frequently do when introduced. A 
little patient work with the birds will win their con- 
fi deuce, but the attendant should be careful not to 
frighten them when feeding or when cleaning the coops 
or the good work will be undone. If the specimen will 
allow the handler to turn it around in the coop .with the 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



93 



hand or judging stick, without becoming nervous and 
retreating to the far corner of the cage, it is fairly well 
trained and will show for what it is worth under the 
judge. Too long confinement tires the bird and detracts 
from its appearance, if it does not make it actually sick. 
The wisdom of this coop training is evident to any one 
who has studied the turkey exhibit at the large shows. 
Frequently a bird is so frightened at any person ap- 
proaching the coop that it will crouch in a corner or 
dash against the top of the cage, making it practically 
impossible to fairly estimate its quality. Young toms 
are more prone to nervousness than females or old toms. 

COOPING FOR TRANSPORTATION 
Coops for shipping- to exhibitions should be large 
enough to allow the bird to stand upright, without rub- 
bing its head against the top, and either so narrow that 
the occupant cannot turn around or wide enough so that 
it can turn without breaking its tail. I believe in the 
voider coop, for it is less likely to damage the plumage 
by constant fi'iction. Coops for this purpose can be used 
season after season and shoiild be solidly constructed of 
three-eighths inch lumber over frames of inch square 
stuff; it need not be heavy, but it must be strong. The 
lop may be hinged and provided with hasp and staple to 
be hooked or locked. Ventilation may be provided in the 
back of the cover by an open space one inch wide and as 
long as the coop, and another space of equal size along 
the front of the coop two or three inches below the top. 
These will admit plenty of air for birds shipped in cool 
weather, will not make a draft and the turkey cannot 
get its head out and get hurt. Handles conveniently 
placed should be on all large coops of this kind to facili- 
tate handling by the expressmen and in a measure pro- 
tect the birds from the rough handling to which large 
coops not so equipped are sometimes subjected. 



For shipping breeding stock to points within a fe\r 
days' journey a wood coop, with solid sides and slat top 
for cold weather and slat sides and top for warm 
weather, three feet long, three feet high and fifteen 
inches wide, is right for toms and large hens, and one 
six inches less in height and length -svill suffice for small 
hens and pullets. Coops of this size allow the birds to 
stretch to their full height and they arrive in much bet- 
ter condition than when closely hemmed in. Shipment 
to long distance points and to foreign countries should 
be in more roomy quarters. Foreign consignments 
should be forwarded in coops three feet long, three 
feet high and three feet wide for each bird, with a little 
extra length added when large toms are to go in them. 
These coops should be made with solid sides if they are 
to go on deck when crossing the water, with a space an 
inch wide left for ventilation near the top of the front, 
but may have slatted sides if to go below decks. The 
only door should be at the bottom of the front, just wide 
enough to admit the turkey turned down on its side, and 
should extend the length of the side and be hinged at the 
top to open outward. Cleaning and feeding may be done 
through this door with but slight chance for the turkey 
to escape. The water dish should be placed well up in 
the coop with provision made for filling it through the 
sides. 

Unless special arrangement is made, a bag of grain 
and a few heads of cabbage should be forwarded, marked 
the same as the coops. Very good care is accorded con- 
signments on board vessels and if the shipper supplies 
food and utensils he may rest assured that the caretaker 
will do his part. These instructions apply only to con- 
signments forwarded in cold or cool weather; it is not 
safe to attempt long distance shipments in the hot 
weather of midsummer. 




HOW TO DRY-PICK TURKEYS 

Good Turkeys Properly Dressed Always Sell Themselves— Badly Butchered Ones Hard to Sell 



GEORGE SIXEAS 




I HIS article deals with the method I use in 
handling- di-y-picked and drj-packed tur- 
keys for express shipments to the 
eastern city markets. I have handled as 
many turkeys as any one of my age and 
have a record of never losing- one pound 
of dressed poultry by sijoiling in transit. 

(jood turkeys properly dressed always sell themselves — 

liadly butchered turkeys are hard to sell at any price. 

1 pen the turkeys for twelve hours so that their 

crops will be empty; if they are killed with lull crops they 

quickly sour and turn black. 

But I do not starve the turkeys 

so that they will lose weight or 

have a gaunt look. When ready- 
to kill, I hang the turkey by 

the legs in a string attached to 

the ceiling so that the turkey's 

head comes within about four 

feet of the floor. Then I lock 

the turkey's wings so that one 

can have better control over it 

in sticking and |)icking. To 

lock the wings bring one over 

the other and catch the tip of 

the upper wing under that of 

the lower. I always aim to 
Ijleed the turkeys well so that 

they will show up brig-ht and 

yellow and keep long. 

To stick the tiirkey I 
-use a long, keen, sharp-pointeu 

knife. I open the turkey's mouth and cjuickly plunge 
the knife down its throat, drawing- it twice towards the 
bill so that I sever the jugular vein on each .side of the 
throat, then quickly push the knife up through the roof 
of the mouth into the brain, g'iving- the knife a slight 
twist. In making this thrust I aim to slightly touch the 
turkey's brain with the point of the knife so as to par- 
alyze the turkey and make it loosen its hold on the 
feathers. If you cut too much of the brain away it will 
tighten its grip on the feathers and you cannot pick it 
without tearing the skin. I had stuck ten thousand tur- 
keys before I learned the art of sticking, and often in 
the holiday rushes when the picking gang is getting 
tired and their fingers are sore they have begged me to 
do the sticking, saying that when I stick they can blow 
the feathers off. 

As soon as the turkey is stuck J begin pulling- the 
feathers off, and the quicker the better. Aim to get the 
turkey picked before it is dead. The pickers are not al- 
lowed to remove a turkey from the string until it is 
clean, and they are never allowed to scrape the pin feath- 
ers out with a knife. As soon as the turkey is picked 1 
plunge it into a barrel of cold water for about an hour. 
Then take it out of the water, catch the turkey by the 
feet and hold it so that its head reaches nearly to the 
ground. Give it a quick jerk so that the blood that has 
accumulated in its throat will be jei-ked out. Place a 
string around its feet and hang it up to dry and cool. It 
is then ready to pack for shipment as soon as it is thor- 
oughly dr)' and all the animal heat has left its body. 




Method of Slioktn^ Turkeys 



Ten years ago most turkeys were shipped in boxes 
of all sizes, shapes and conditions. No attention was paid 
to uniformity, and second-hand shoe, hat, coffee and 
canned goods and such other boxes as were available 
were used, together with barrels of varying sizes and 
conditions, from the little western apple barrel up- to the 
coffee and sugar barrels. The result of this method of 
packing was not altogether inviting to the eye of the 
buyer. Gradually more attention was given to the matter 
and a steady improvement has been made until at the 
present time boxes are made especially for the purpose. 

Barrels to some extent 
are also used at the present 
time, but not nearly so com- 
monly as in years past. The 
size of the packages has also 
changed. The rule used to 
be to get as large a box as 
jiossible, cramming in as many 
turkeys as it would hold with- 
out splitting-. 

In some ways this made 
business good for the whole- 
sale and jobbing houses, as 
there were many small dealers 
who were unable to handle full 
packages, who had to pay an 
extr.i profit for the privilege 
of selecting such birds as they 
needed. 

It is a question, however, if 
on the whole there was 
much gain to the wholesale handlers, as there were 
generally enough odds and ends left to seriously detract 
from the jirofits as a whole. The demand for smaller 
packages came to be felt by shippers as well as whole- 
salers and commission men and steps were taken to 
supply the want. At the present time the boxes rarely 
weigh more than 150 to 200 pounds each, and great 
numbers are packed in boxes holding from ten to fifteen 
selected birds, while a less number hold from eight to 
twelve. This makes it possible for the small marketmen 
and provision dealers to buy a full package without any 
extra cost for breakage or selection, and at the same 
time does away -with a great deal of work and with much 
of the waste which was prevalent in the old method of 
packing and shipping. 

The common method of packing birds is to make one 
layer of lom turkeys in the bottom of the boxes, while 
the upper layer is made up of females. This gives a 
selection of sizes, and is better for the retailer than where 
they run pretty nearly one size throughout. The best 
shippers are known by their private shipping marks 
and it is understood just how the birds may be expected 
to turn out. Generally the case is marked so many hens, 
so many toms, and if any old hens or old cock birds are 
in the package, they are specified on the outside so that 
the buyer may know just exactly what he is getting. In 
the long run honesty in packing makes returns in dollars 
and cents and there is no other one thing which tells 
better for a shipper than a reputation for honest 
methods of boxing. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Mammoth Bronze Turkeys to Date - 

Introductory - - - . - 

How the Turkey Got Its Name 

Turkeys and Their Management 

Standard-Bred Bronze Turkeys 

Turkeys — Their Care and Management 

Successful Turkey Raising - 

Breeding Mammoth Bronze Turkeys 

Turkeys On Fisher's Island - 

A Typical Forty-Pound Bronze Turkey Cock 

Care and Management of Turkeys - 

Hatching and Rearing Bronze Turkeys 

Some Practical Hints - - 

Points on Turkey Breeding - 

In Nature's Way - - . . 

Turkeys Raised Without Housing - 

Mating Standard-Bred Bronze Turkeys 

The Farmer's Best Friend 

Success With Turkeys 

The Method of a Successful Breeder 

The Popular Bronze Turkey 

Turkeys For Profit - - - - 

The Watch Word of Success . 

Down-To-Date White Holland Turkeys 

White Holland Turkeys 

Advocates White Holland Turkeys - 

White Holland Turkeys 

Breeding White Holland Turkeys - 

Raise More Turkeys - - 

Wild Turkeys . . . . 

The Great Market Turkey - 

Money in Turkeys for the Holidays - 

Killing, Plucking and Marketing Turkeys - 

Catching, Handling and Shipping Turkeys 

How to Dry Pick Turkeys - 





Page 


F. L. Sewell - 


Frontispiece 


- 


- 3 


D. E. Hale - 


- 5 


Chas. McClave 


- 7 


D. E. Hale - 


- 11 


S. B. Johnston 


■ 18 



Mrs. M. L. Singleton - 20 

James E. Lord - - 22 

E. M. and W. Ferguson - 24 

Illustration - - - 26 

W. J. Bell - - - 27 

Ralph S. Mosely - - 31 

O. E. Skinner - - 32 

J. F. Crangle - - - 33 

B. F. Ulrey - - - 36 

B. F. Hislop - - - 38 
J. T. Thompson - - 42 
Mrs. J. M. Randolph - - 43 
Mrs. Bettie Glover Mackey - 46 
Mrs. H. R. Schlotzhauer - 61 
Emmet F. Pullin . - 62 
Mrs. Charles Jones - - 63 
Mrs. Nellie Bullock - - 71 
Illustration - - - 72 
John R, Garbee - - 73 
J. A. Leland - - - 74 
A. E. Biaker - - - 76 

C. C. Herron - - - 77 
Mrs. W. N. Jewett - - 78 
Robert Eee Blanton - - 79 
S. T. Jones - - - 81 
Fred Haxton - - - 83 
H. A. Nourse - - - 89 
H. A. Nourse - - - 92 
George Sixeas - - 94 



OCT 22 190- 




The End 



?rnPY. ntn . to cat. oiv. 

NOV 11 11909 



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